or1980v2pt1

The Relay
At 12.00 p.m. Moscow time on the
19th of June the ceremonial lighting of
the flame of the Games of the XXII
Olympiad took place at Olympia. The
ritual was performed by the Greek
actress Maria Mosxoliou.
Participants in the ceremony heard
short speeches from the Vice-President
of the NOC of Greece A. Lembecis, the
Vice-President of the OCOG-80 Ivan
Koziulia and the Mayor of Olympia
A. Kytras.
Also present at the ceremony were
member of the IOC and President of the
International Olympic Academy
Nikolaux Nissiotis, participants in the
XX Session of the Academy, staff from
the Soviet embassy headed by the
temporary Charge d'Affaires of the
USSR in Greece B. Panov, local people
from Olympia and many tourists.
During the ceremony the national
anthems of Greece and the USSR were
played and a wreath was laid on the
white-marble plate where the heart of
Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the
modern Olympic Games, lies at rest.
Maria Mosxoliou handed the torch
with the Olympic flame and olive
branch to the first runner, Atanasios
Kozmopoulus, a 17-year-old high
school student from Athens.
The light of the sun has lit the
sacred torch, she said, and its flame,
carried to Moscow, will light with its
radiance the noble and peaceful competitions
of the athletes of the world!
Accompanied by an escort of honour
Kozmopoulus turned to the memorial
to Pierre de Coubertin and then, to
the sound of a solemn march, the relay
set off on its way.
For the first two days (June 19-20)
from Olympia to Athens, the relay
travelled day and night, completing its
journey through Greece in one week.
In the Greek villages and towns
which the flame passed through the
entire population came out to greet the
relay. Many greeted the flame with
laurel wreaths and palm fronds.
In Pirgos more than 5,000 people
led by the local metropolitan and the
governor of Ilia assembled for the
ceremonial welcoming. More than
20,000 inhabitants of the town of Patra
took up all the free space in the square
around the platform that was raising up
the ceremonial cup and the stage
where artists were to perform. They
spread out over the balconies and roofs
of the surrounding houses and welcomed
the torch-bearers with cries of
"Peace, friendship".
"The Olympic flame, passing
through such small towns as ours,
268
would pass the love of the Greeks for
the great festival in Moscow—the
Olympics," said Mayor D. Kuenis in his
address to the guests of his town and to
2,000 fellow citizens of Tirnavos.
Thousands of people filled the
stands of the white-marble stadium in
Athens long before the appearance of
the torch-bearer. The festive ceremony
was concluded with a concert.
On the last stage of the journey
through Greece the torch was carried
by champion of the Balkan Games
teacher Vasilios Pitsos. The torch was
carried onto Bulgarian soil by two times
Olympic champion Boyan Radev.