On Tuesday, the flame for this summer’s Paris Olympics was lit at the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games in southern Greece in a meticulously choreographed ceremony. It will then be carried through Greece for more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens venue used for the first modern Olympics in 1896.

Hundreds of dignitaries and spectators are expected to attend the lighting of the Olympic flame in the small Peloponnese town in southwestern Greece where the Olympics were born in 776 BCE, and where the ceremony is held every two years for the summer and winter Olympics. As clouds crowd the skies Tuesday morning, participants and spectators alike await eagerly the appearance of the sun, an important element in the ritual, FRANCE 24's Nathalie Savaricas said, reporting from Olympia.

The sacred flame for the Paris 2024 Olympics was lit Tuesday in ancient Olympia, birthplace of the ancient Games, setting off an epic three-month torch relay to the July 26 opening ceremony.