ATHENS, April 26. /TASS/. A ceremony of handing over the Olympic flame to the organizers of the 23rd Summer Olympic Games in Paris kicked off at Athens' historic white marble Panathinaikos Stadium, which hosted the first ever Olympic Games in modern history in 1896, the press office of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in a statement on Friday.

"Exactly three months before the Olympic Games begin, the Olympic flame has been handed over, transitioning from its Greek origins to the French stage, signifying the next chapter in its journey towards Paris," the statement reads.

"The ceremony, hosted by the Hellenic Olympic Committee, unfolded in Athens' iconic Panathenaic Stadium, which hosted the first Olympic Games of the modern era in 1896, embodying a message of peace and unity," according to the official website.

The ceremonial lighting of the Olympic flame for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris took place in Ancient Olympia on April 16. That day, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach, President of the Greek National Olympic Committee Spyros Capralos and other officials were in attendance.

The ritual of lighting the Olympic flame dates back to the ancient Olympic Games in Greece. It is a reminder of the legend of titan Prometheus, who stole fire from the Gods and gave it to human beings as a gift. The modern tradition was revived in 1928, at the Amsterdam Olympics, when the Olympic flame was for the first time lit at the main stadium. And in 1936, before the Olympic Games in Berlin, a torch relay was held for the first time in modern history.

The 2024 Summer Olympic Games will be hosted by the French capital of Paris between July 26 and August 11.

IOC’s regulations against Russia

The International Olympic Committee Executive Board convened for a meeting at the Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland, on March 19-20 and following the opening day it decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in the Parade of Athletes and also exclude them from the 2024 Olympics overall medal standings.

The IOC, however, ruled that Russian athletes, cleared to participate in the upcoming Olympics, would not have to sign anything denouncing their country’s special military operation in Ukraine.

On October 12, 2023, the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) until further notice after the Russian organization included the Olympic councils of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions as its members.

The Swiss-based CAS registered on November 6, 2023 an appeal from the ROC against the IOC’s decision on the Russian governing Olympic body’s suspension.

The suspension means that the ROC cannot act as a national Olympic committee or receive financing from the Olympic movement. The IOC however reserved the right to clear Russian athletes to take part in the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 as neutrals. Later, IOC President Thomas Bach said that Russian athletes should have no affiliation with the ROC if they want to compete at the Olympic Games.