Olympic flame passed to Beijing 2022 at historic ceremony in Athens; flame will arrive in host city on 20 October

The Olympic flame was officially passed to the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 (BOCOG) today (19 October) at a special ceremony at the historic Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, Greece.

YU Zaiging, the vice president of BOCOG and the Chinese Olympic Committee, received the flame on behalf of BOCOG from Hellenic Olympic Committee President and International Olympic Committee member Spyros Capralo.

The shortened ceremony, which took place without spectators due to coronavirus restrictions, was held at the Panathenaic Stadium - the only stadium in the world built entirely of marble - which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympics in 1896 and was the venue for four of the nine contested sports.

The Olympic flame was carried into the stadium by Olympic silver medallist Evi Moraitidou (who was part of Greece's women's water polo team that won silver at Athens 2004), who passed it on to Li Nina (a two-time Olympic silver medallist in freestyle skiing) before the flame was finally received by Greek skier and biathlete Paraskevi Ladopoulou, who lit a gold ceremonial cauldron in the centre of the stadium.

Speaking at the ceremony, Yu said: "As you may recall, it was right here [the Panathenaic Stadium] 13 years ago...that the Olympic flame was handed over to Beijing for the first time.

"Thanks to the support of the people of the world, China delivered an extraordinary Summer Olympics.

"Over the past 13 years, China's efforts to promote the Olympic spirit, the Olympic culture and Olympic knowledge have never stopped.

"As a symbol of the Olympic spirit, the Olympic flame will travel to the Great Wall and across other parts of China, bringing with it the light of peace and friendship.

"Let us meet at the rendezvous of ice and snow; let us run towards a shared, brighter future. We look forward to meeting you in Beijing for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games."

Following the address by Yu, the official torch for Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 was ignited by Greek actress Xanthi Georgiou, who also played the role of high priestess during the official Olympic lighting ceremony held in Ancient Olympia on 18 October.

She then passed the torch to Capralo, who handed it to Yu.

Following the handover ceremony, the flame was transferred to a specialized safety lantern, where it will remain for its flight to Beijing, where it is due to arrive on 20 October.