The Olympic flame for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver was successfully lit by the sun's rays. Dignitaries from the International Olympic Committee, Greece and Canada gathered in Ancient Olympia to witness the lighting of the flame. IOC President Jacque Rogge says the torch and flame symbolize the values and ideals of the Olympic movement.

Jacques Rogge, the IOC President, says,"It is a message of friendship and respect to millions of people of different nationalities, races and creeds.

Above all it is a message of peace throughout the world and symbolized by the tradition of he Olympic Truce or the ekecheiria that was proclaimed and announced by he citizens of Elis who travelled throughout Greece to pass on the message."

A Greek actress dressed as a High Priestess lit the torch with a concave mirror reflecting the sun's rays. The flame was then passed on to the first torchbearer, the Greek giant slalom skier Vassilis Dimitriadis. After an eight-day trip through Greece, the flame will be handed over to Canadian officials at the restored ancient Panathenaean Stadium in Athens. It will be flown to Canada on Oct. 30 for a 45,000-kilometre journey which organizers say will be the largest ever national relay.