The flame - an Olympic symbol meant to represent purity because it comes directly from the sun - was placed in an urn and taken to the stadium where the ancient Olympic Games were held.

The lighting symbolically marks the beginning of the torch relay that will bring the flame to the Olympic Stadium in London on July 27.In line with tradition, the flame was lit following the time-honored ritual of using the sun’s rays and a parabolic mirror, by a high priestess Ino Menegaki at the Temple of Hera in Ancient Olympia.

“We promise to protect the flame, to cherish its traditions and stage an uplifting torch relay of which we can be proud,” Coe said in a speech, vowing the event would “lift the spirits and hopes of people across Britain and across the world”. After thanks to the god Apollo, “king of the sun and the idea of light”, in the shadow of the Greek, British and Olympic flags, the flame was handed to the first relay runner, Greece’s Liverpool-born open water swimming champion Spyros Gianniotis.

The torch is a reminder of the ancient Olympics, when a flame burned throughout the Games. The tradition was revived in 1936 for the Olympics in Berlin. No overseas legs of the torch relay have been planned this time round after those before the Beijing Games were hit by widespread protests against China.