Olympic flame sets sail from Greece to France

The Olympic flame has set sail from Greece on Saturday, on the back of the Belem, a 127 year-old sailing ship.

It will sail across the Mediterranean Sea for 12 days, in a 2000 kilometre journey that will see it dock for the port city of Marseille in France. It is due to arrive on 8 May.

The flame will then travel across France, including its overseas territories, before arriving at the Opening Ceremony on 26 July.

The flame was formally handed to French organisers on Friday at Panathenaic stadium, where the first modern games were held in Athens in 1896.

Greek water polo player Ioannis Fountoulis, the last in a long line of torchbearers, used the flame to light a cauldron at the Panathenaic Stadium. From there, it was delivered to Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet.

The flame was kindled on 16 April at Olympia in southern Greece, where the ancient games were held for more than 1,000 years from about 776 B.C. to A.D. 393.

From Olympia's ancient stadium, a relay of torchbearers carried it along a 5,000-kilometre route through Greece, which included several islands and an overnight stop on the ancient Acropolis.