The torch handover ceremony for the sacred Olympic flame was held at Panathenaikon Stadium, the site of the first modern-day Olympic Games. The torch welcome ceremony will be held at Tian'anmen Square on the morning of March 31.

Date/Time: 12:00 GMT, Monday, March 30, 2008

Venue: Panathenaikon Stadium, Athens

Greek presidential guards dressed in traditional attire have entered the stadium. The handover ceremony is about to start.

The philharmonic band of the city of Athens is now entering the stadium.

President of the Hellenic Republic Karolos Papoulias is entering Panathenaikon Stadium. Marching next to Papoulias is Hellenic Olympic Committee President Minos Kyriakou.

President Papoulias shakes hands with members of BOCOG and the IOC.

Now flag bearers enter the stadium with the Chinese and Greek flags.

The national anthem of China is played.

The national anthem of Greece is played.

The host welcomes the guests to the Olympic Flame Handover Ceremony and introduces the philharmonic band of the city of Athens and the choir.

The priestesses enter the stadium. The sequence was choreographed by Artemis Ignatiou, who also choreographed the torch lighting ceremony.

High Priestess Maria Nafpliotou enters with the Beijing Olympic Torch.

The last torchbearer in Greece, Pigi Devetzi, enters with the Olympic Flame.

Devetzi lights the altar.

The host: Now the Olympic anthem.

The Olympic anthem is sung by the choir.

The host invites Hellenic Olympic Committee President Minos Kyriakou and BOCOG President Liu Qi to the stage.

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Art performances in Beijing to welcome the Olympic Flame


The Olympic Flame arrived in Beijing Monday morning and a welcome ceremony is being held at Tian'anmen Square, Beijing, to welcome its arrival. This photo taken on March 31 shows people giving art performances for the event.

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Crowds await the arrival of the Olympic flame at Tian’anmen Square


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Vehicle carries safety lantern through Beijing



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Take photo as memory


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Olympic flame arrives at Beijing Capital Int'l Airport


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Tian'anmen square welcomes the torch



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Olympic torch relay ceremony will begin


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Tian'anmen square ready for torch welcoming ceremony



http://2008.163.com/special/00742CMG/torchzb.html

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Chinese President Hu Jintao applauds as Liu Xiang raises the Olympic torch


Hurdler Liu Xiang is first to run with Olympic Torch at Tian'anmen


Olympic men's hurdles champion Liu Xiang holds the torch at the welcome ceremony for the Olympic flame and launching of the Beijing Olympic torch relay at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, China, on March 31, 2008. (Photo credit: Xinhua)
(BEIJING, March 31) -- Olympic 110m hurdle champion Liu Xiang will bring the Olympic Torch to Tian'anmen on the morning of March 31, running along Chang'an Avenue as the first leg in the Olympic Torch relay.

Earlier in the day, a chartered Air China flight carrying the Olympic Flame touched down at Beijing Capital International Airport. The arrival at the airport will be followed by a welcoming ceremony at Tian'anmen Square. On Tuesday, the Torch begins its relay around the world, making its first stop in Almaty, the biggest city of Kazakhstan.

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Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping addresses the welcome ceremony



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Liu Qi walks off the plane with the lantern


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http://2008.163.com/special/0074297O/hjlxflash.html

http://torchrelay.beijing2008.cn/en/

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hi, Ashley,
it is better if the title are in English

Thanks for news in time.
There was traffic jam for common people as well.
Once the Tiananmen Square is guarded, there will be troubles for the traffic.

Validated by IOC, the Olympic Flame will be lit in Olympia, Greece according to tradition on March 24, 2008. From March 24-29, the Torch Relay will travel across Greece, ending at the Panathinaiko Stadium, the site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. After the handover ceremony in the stadium, the Olympic Flame will arrive in Beijing on March 31, 2008. In Beijing, a ceremony will be held for the arrival of the flame into China and Beijing 2008 Olympic torch relay will commence.

The cities along the route are:

Beijing; Almaty; Istanbul; St.Petersburg; London; Paris; San Francisco; Buenos Aires; Dar Es Salaam; Muscat; Islamabad; New Delhi; Bangkok; Kuala Lumpur; Jakarta; Canberra; Nagano; Seoul; Pyongyang; Ho Chi Minh City; Hong Kong; Macao; Hainan Province (Sanya, Wuzhishan, Wanning, Haikou); Guangdong Province (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Huizhou, Shantou); Fujian Province (Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Xiamen, Longyan); Jiangxi Province (Ruijin, Jinggangshan, Nanchang); Zhejiang Province (Wenzhou, Ningbo, Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Jiaxing); Shanghai; Jiangsu Province (Suzhou, Nantong, Taizhou, Yangzhou, Nanjing); An'hui Province (Hefei, Huainan, Wuhu, Jixi, Huangshan); Hubei Province (Wuhan, Yichang, Jingzhou); Hunan Province (Yueyang, Changsha, Shaoshan); Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Guilin, Nanning, Baise); Yunnan Province (Kunming, Lijiang, Xamgyi' nyilha); Guizhou Province (Guiyang, Kaili, Zunyi); Chongqing; Sichuang Province (Guang'an, Mianyang, Guanghan, Leshan, Zigong, Yibin, Chengdu); Tibet Autonomous Region (Shannan Diqu, Lhasa); Qinghai Province (Golmud, Qinghai Hu, Xining); Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Urumqi, Kashi, Shihezi, Changji); Gansu Province (Dunhuang, Jiayuguan, Jiuquan, Tianshui, Lanzhou); Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (Zhongwei, Wuzhong, Yinchuan); Shaanxi Province (Yan'an, Yangling, Xianyang, Xi'an); Shanxi Province (Yuncheng, Pingyao, Taiyuan, Datong); Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Hohhot, Ordos, Baotou, Chifeng); Heilongjiang Province (Qiqihar, Daqing, Harbin); Jilin Province (Songyuan, Changchun, Jilin, Yanji); Liaoning Province (Shenyang, Benxi, Liaoyang, Anshan, Dalian); Shandong Province (Yantai, Weihai, Qingdao, Rizhao, Linyi, Qufu, Tai'an, Jinan); Henan Province (Shangqiu, Kaifeng, Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Anyang); Hebei Province (Shijiazhuang, Qinhuangdao, Tangshan); Tianjin; and Beijing.

One of the highlights of this leg will be the attempt to bring the Olympic Flame to the highest peak in the world Mt. Qomolangma. During the arrival ceremony for the flame into China on March 31, 2008, one of the lanterns with the Olympic Flame will be kept aside. The torchbearer team will then attempt to take the Flame to the highest peak on a day in May that presents the best climatic conditions for the ascent.
http://torchrelay.beijing2008.cn/en/journey/n214039841.shtml
http://torchrelay.beijing2008.cn/en/journey/map/