Athens, April 13, 2016 – the Hellenic Olympic Committee is busy preparing the Rio 2016 lighting ceremony, the top event that officially starts the final run-up to the Olympic Games, which will take place in Ancient Olympia next 21 April.

This week, HOC president Spyros Capralos announced the programme for the Lighting Ceremony, and the Flame’s 7-day trip within Greece, ahead of the handover to the Rio organisers.

Next 21st of April the Ceremony will start at noon at Hera Temple, where, after the Olympic anthem and national anthems of Greece and Brazil, the Mayor of Ancient Olympia, Mr Efthymios Kotzas, the President of the “RIO 2016” Organising Committee, Mr Carlos Nuzman, the President of the International Olympic Committee, Mr Thomas Bach and the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Mr Spyros Capralos, will address the audience, officials and guests.

The Lighting Ceremony ritual will take place at the Hera Temple, where the Rio Flame will be lit with sun rays by the High Priestess and then handed over to the first torchbearer – artistic gymnastics world champion Lefteris Petrounias – for the start of the Olympic Torch Relay across Greece, which will end at the Panathenaic Stadium, where the Handover Ceremony to the Rio 2016 organisers will take place on April 27 at 17:00. The Flame will then fly to Brazil for the lengthy Route to Rio Maracana Stadium.