On March 24th 2008 at 11am at the site of Olympia in Greece, the sacred flame was successfully lit by High Priestess Maria Nafpliotou in a traditional ritual, using only the rays of the sunshine and a parabolic mirror.
After the torch lighting ceremony the Bejing Olympic flame began the 'Journey of Harmony' from the ancient location of Olympia in Greece and travelled to the destination of Bejing in China where the games began on August 8th 2008.
Photograph Credit: torchrelay.beijing2008.cn
The Journey of Harmony was to be a 130 day - 85,128 miles (approximately 137,000 Kilimetres) in distance.
The Olympic Torch Relay would be the largest relay in the history of the Olympic Games. The Sacred Flame will travel to all five continents that are represented by the five Olympic rings.
This year the Sacred Flame of Harmony will be lit again in Greece at Olympia in the same way. The Sacred Flame will then make its journey and travel the five continents before it arrives in London and 2012 Olympics opening ceremony will begin.
"Artemis Ignatiou, choreographer of the Flame-lighting Ceremony said "New elements were introduced, male The Olympic flame ritual for this year’s Beijing Games torch relay will introduce new elements such as male dancers, live music and a tableau recreating the frieze displays of ancient Greek temples," .
"The highlight of the torch relay, involving a total of 21,780 torchbearers, will be an attempt to take the Olympic flame to the summit of Mount Qomolangma, known as Mt Everest in the West in May. Li said the list of some 19,400 torchbearers and the roadmap for the torch relay over 700 cities in China..."
It is a great privilege to be born into my ancient Greek spiritual heritage. And even if I am not able to attend the Olympics 2012 in London, my heart is with the Sacred Flame every step of The Way."
Peace, love and best wishes
Pauline Maria
No comments:
Post a Comment