Beijing receives Olympic flame

ATHENS: The curtain was officially raised on the Beijing Olympic Games with the Olympic flame being handed over to the hosts yesterday in the Greek capital.

Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Olympic organizing committee, received the flame from Hellenic Olympic Committee president Minos Kyriakou at the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens.

The flame, which arrives in Beijing today, was ignited at ancient Olympia on March 24. The torch was carried by 629 torchbearers over 1,500 km in seven days in Greece.