VIDEO: Paris Olympics 2024 flame lit at Ancient Olympia; Greek actress Mary Mina, playing the role of the High Priestess, lights the torch

Ancient Olympia (Greece): The Olympic flame that will be burning for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games started its journey after being ignited at the birthplace of the Games in Ancient Olympia, Greece on Tuesday during a traditional ceremony.

Actress Mary Mina, in the role of an ancient Greek High Priestess, lit the torch using a backup flame instead of a concave mirror due to cloudy skies before the 2,500-year-old Temple of Hera, a goddess in ancient Greek mythology.

Did you know? The Olympic flame is lit using the sun’s rays, a tradition which ensures purity.

Although there were cloudy skies on the day of the Paris 2024 Flame-lighting Ceremony, the backup flame which was used had been ignited the previous day through this fascinating… pic.twitter.com/dQph6QQCNp

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) April 16, 2024

Approximately 600 torchbearers will carry the Olympic flame over some 5,000km across Greece, passing through dozens of cities and archaeological sites, according to the Hellenic Olympic Committee.

The flame will be handed over to the Paris 2024 organizers on April 26 at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, the venue of the first modern Olympics in 1896.

The following day, it will board Belem, a French three-masted vessel that was launched in 1896, on Piraeus port.