Flame lighting ritual starts countdown to 2022 Games

After the Olympic flame was lit, Greek skier Ioannis Antoniou, an Olympian who was the first torchbearer for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, revisited the role by carrying the torch while running the first leg of the brief relay.

The flame was then passed to Chinese Olympian Li Jiajun, a winner of five medals (two silver and three bronze) in short-track speed skating at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 Winter Games.

"As a former winter sports athlete, it's such a great honor and a sacred mission to come to Greece and take part in the ceremony as a torchbearer," said Li, who retired at 31 after the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy.

The Olympic flame will be transported to Panathenaic Stadium in Athens on Tuesday, when the official handover to the Beijing 2022 organizing committee takes place before the flame departs for China.

A welcoming ceremony will be held in Beijing on Wednesday, with the flame initially going on display to the public at the Beijing Olympic Tower before setting off on an exhibition tour.

A traditional Olympic torch relay will be held on a much smaller scale, compared with the traditional grand fashion, under COVID-19 protocols, with more information to be released after the flame's arrival.

Around 2,900 athletes, representing approximately 85 National Olympic Committees, will compete in what will be the most gender-balanced Winter Games in history in three zones－Beijing's downtown, its northwest Yanqing district and co-host Zhangjiakou, Hebei province－through Feb 20.