The holy ceremony for lighting the flame for 2008 Olympic Games will be definitely held in Olympia next year, Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Georgios Koumoutsakos said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency on Thursday.

 

He said that one front of fire ravaged in southern Greece had licked the Ancient Olympia in the western Peloponnese, however, with the effort of fire brigades and local people, Olympia archeological site and the museum were not touched.

 

The museum and the Archeological site had reopened to public since last Tuesday and the ministry has made announcement on its website.

 

Revered as the holiest sanctuary in ancient Greece, Olympia in the western Peloponnese hosted the ancient Olympic Games fore more than 1,000 years after they started in 776 B.C.

 

Olympia witnessed the holy ceremony for lighting the flame for Berlin Olympic Games in 1936 and since then the ceremony of lighting the flame for each Olympic games and the torch relay is held there.

 

(Xinhua News Agency August 31, 2007)