On 11 June the Olympic torch will arrive in Cairo on its way to Athens Celebrating last week's lighting of the Olympic flame, the Egyptian National Olympic Committee (NOC) held a special ceremony to mark the occasion which was attended by Inas Mazhar. At NOC headquarters, the Olympic flag of Athens 2004 was raised to the applause of high-ranking state officials including Youth Minister Alieddin Hilal, the governors of Cairo and Giza, the Greek ambassador to Egypt and NOC Chairman Mounir Sabet. Some of Egypt's finest actors were there, too: Hussein Fahmi, Laila Elwi and Hala Sedqi. Greek youth living in Egypt danced to folklore music. Earlier, the audience was shown a video of the history of the Olympic Games, its beginnings in Athens and its return to its origins. The film also showed the route the torchbearers will take starting 1 June. The torch will arrive at Cairo Airport in the morning of 11 June. It will be taken to NOC headquarters in Nasr City where a special ceremony will take place after which 72 runners will run 370 kilometres through the streets of several Cairo districts until the Pyramids. In the evening the torch will be carried back to the airport where it will head for South Africa. "We are glad we were among the nations through which the torch will pass," said Sabet. "We have prepared a special celebration for the occasion." The torch will arrive in Egypt with its own security. Ahmed Enan, NOC general director, said the torchbearers will be carefully selected according to their sports history. "Motorbike riders will be accompanying them on both sides of the route," Enan said. The countdown to the Games began last week with the lighting of the Olympic flame in Ancient Olympia, Greece. Ignited by the rays of the sun in a traditional ceremony at noon, the flame was carried to the ancient stadium of Olympia, where it was viewed by the public, media and invited guests of the Hellenic Olympic Committee. Several officials spoke at the event, including International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge, Athens 2004 President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, Hellenic Olympic Committee President Lambis Nikolaou and mayor of Olympia, Giannis Skoularikis. "It was in Olympia that everything began and today that everything is going to begin for Athens 2004," Rogge said. "Today we light a torch that will truly light the world," Angelopoulos- Daskalaki said, adding, "this year's relay takes our tradition to a higher level. For the first time ever, an Olympic torch relay will truly circle the globe, celebrating peace and Olympism around the world and in Greece, as we prepare for the homecoming of the Olympic Games." The flame will travel from Ancient Olympia, where the first Olympic Games were held in 776 BC, through the Peloponnese, the islands of the Saronic Gulf, and finally to the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. "Pass the flame, unite the world" is the theme of the Athens 2004 torch relay which will take the flame to 34 cities worldwide, including every city that has hosted the Games, as well as Beijing, the 2008 host city, and other selected cities on the international route. The flame will be carried by more than 11,000 torchbearers throughout the world and Greece. The flame will cross the five continents -- symbolised by the five Olympic rings which links them together and breaks down political, religious, social and cultural barriers. "More than ever, this Olympic torch relay will convey a message of peace and friendship among peoples and in doing so, respect the tradition of the Olympic truce or ekecheiria, like in the Games of Antiquity," Rogge added. "Whether we are male or female, young or old, able-bodied or disabled, high-level athletes or amateurs, employers or employees, famous or unknown, whether we live in a rich or a disadvantaged country, the flame will unite us all," Rogge said. The Olympics begin on 13 August. By Inas Mazhar
