Olympic flame for 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics blazes

Baku. 24 October. REPORT.AZ/ The Olympic flame lighting ceremony for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, was held on Tuesday.

Report informs, event was held in Peloponnese peninsula, Greece.

The official ceremony was held with actress Katerina Lehou. The first torchbearer was the Greek cross-country skier Apostolos Angelis, participant of 2014 Sochi Olympics, who will be followed by South Korea’s and Manchester United's veteran football player Park Ji-sung.

During the following week, the flame which will cover 2,129 km of Greece, will arrive at the Acropolis on 30 October. Some 505 torchbearers will also participate, and 36 welcome ceremonies will be held in 20 municipalities in the eight days after the ceremony.

The ceremony for the handover of the flame to the Pyeongchang 2018 Organising Committee will be held at the Panathenaic Stadium, the only stadium in the world made entirely from marble, on 31 October at 11:00am, Athens time.

The South Korean leg of the relay will involve 7,500 torch-bearers, who will cover a total 2,018 kilometers.

Notably, the Winter Olympic Games will be held on February 9-25 next year. Azerbaijani athletes will not participate in the competition.