Tampere, June 17th – The Olympic Flame for the European Youth Olympic Festival was lit in a traditional ceremony in Athens on Thursday 4th June.
The President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Mr. Spyros Capralis gave the torch, placed in a lamp, to Mr. Timo P. Nieminen, Mayor of City of Tampere, and Mr. Pekka P. Paavola, Chairman of the LOC.
In Tampere, a short ceremony was held on Monday 8th June, at which a 17-year-old athlete, Lotta Harala, ran with the torch up the stairs of the City Hall and was photographed with Mayor Nieminen and Mr. Paavola.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, because the last time the Olympic torch burnt in Tampere was in 1952, when some football matches at the Helsinki Olympic Games were played here. We, who followed that simple but extremely fine ceremony at the Old Olympic Stadium in Athens, will never forget it” said Mayor Nieminen.
Neither will Harala, who was the very first to run with the torch! Lotta will be running the 100m hurdles at the EYOF on his home track.