|
The
Olympic flame arrives in Beijing, June 8, 2004. The lantern
carrying the Olympic flame was officially received by Liu
Jingmin, executive vice president of the Beijing Organizing
Committee for the 2008 Olympics (BOCOG) at Beijing Int'l
airport. (Xinhua Photo)
|
BEIJING, June 8 (Xinhuanet) -- The Olympic flame
arrived in Beijing early Tuesday for the fifth
leg of a six-week global torch relay leading up to the
Athens Games in August.
A small lantern carrying the flame arrived at the
Beijing International Airport 6:23 a.m. (Beijing time)
aboard a Greek chartered jumbo jet painted in Olympic
colors and dubbed "Zeus" for a two-day stay in the host
city of the 2008 Games.
The lantern was officially received by Liu Jingmin,
executive vice president of the Beijing Organizing
Committee for the 2008 Olympics (BOCOG), for a brief ceremony at
the airport.
The flame was lit in Ancient Olympia on March 25 and taken to Athens'
marble stadium, where the
first modern Olympics were held in 1896.
It started a 78,000-kilometer journey across six continents and33
cities when it left Greece on
June 2. For the first time in history, the Olympic flame will visit
Africa and South America.
The torch relay returns to Greece on July 9 for the second half
of its domestic relay before the
start of the August 13-29 Olympics.
