Olympic flame lit in Greece before coming to Georgia

The Olympic flame for the 2015 European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) has been lit in the ancient Greek city of Athens and will today travel to Georgia for the international youth sporting competition.

Only minutes ago the Olympic torch was be lit in Athens – the oldest city of Greece and the home of the Olympic Games –to mark the beginning of the EYOF 2015, as well symbolically recognizing Georgia’s Independence Day.

Torch bearers

The flame was lit at a special ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens and handed to Georgian sportsman Lasha Shavdatuashvili, who is the official first torch bearer of the EYOF 2015.

Shavdatuashvili was selected for his excellence in Judo; he gained a gold medal in the Judo competition at the London Olympic Games in 2012. He became European champion in 2013 and is currently recognised as the best sportsman in Georgia.

Shavdatuashvili then handed the Olympic torch to Mariam Bolkvadze, who gained third place at the Olympic Festival in Utrecht in tennis.

Later tody after the Panathenaic Stadium celebration, the Olympic torch will be transported to Georgia’s seaside city Batumi. The flame is due to arrive at 8pm tonight, where celebrations will continue at Batumi’s piazza square.

On May 28 the Olympic flame will leave Batumi and be transported across the 67 municipalities of Georgia before the EYOF begins in July.

On July 14 the flame will come to Georgia’s capital Tbilisi – the host city of the EYOF. The international competition will be held from July 25 to August 1, 2015.

This year is the 13th biennial competition. The flame will be ablaze until the end of the competition.

This year the Olympic torch is decorated with the Georgian elements - vine leaves and grape seeds.

The EYOF 2015, commonly known as Tbilisi 2015, will see more than 4,000 youth athletes from 49 European countries descend on Georgia’s capital to participate in nine sports: judo, tennis, artistic gymnastics, track cycling, track and field athletics, swimming, volleyball, handball and basketball.