Huge crowds greeted the Olympic Torch Relay on Sunday (24 July) as it visited the largest city in Brazil, with famous stars of sports and the arts and unsung heroes of ordinary life carrying the torch through the streets of São Paulo.

With a population of about 12 million people, São Paulo is the country's undisputed capital of business and industry. The giant megalopolis is celebrated for its restaurants, galleries and nightlife, and for a cultural scene that is perhaps the most diverse and rewarding in the country.

On Sunday, a veritable A-list of Brazilian celebrities of all ages and backgrounds carried the torch through São Paulo.

One of the first torchbearers was legendary Brazilian boxer Éder Jofre, one of the greatest bantamweight and featherweight fighters in history. The 80-year-old showed he was still in great shape on Sunday morning and seemed inspired by the honour of carrying the torch.

A sporting star from another generation, Brazilian skateboarding icon Bob Burnquist, skated with the torch through the giant Ibirapuera Park and shared his sense of growing excitement with the Games.

On Avenida Paulista, the city's most famous street and the epicentre of its cultural life, thousands of people gathered on Sunday morning to watch the big event. Spectators were treated to an acrobatic show and a flying orchestra, fully in keeping with the city's reputation for artistic innovation and experimentation.

Cycling activist and reporter Renata Falzoni used a state-of-the-art 360-degree camera to record her leg of the relay on an Avenida Paulista that was overflowing with crowds of wellwishers, tourists and sports fans.

The torch relay visited some of the city's most famous landmarks, including the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP), a masterpiece of modernist architecture also located on the Avenida Paulista.

At MASP, the torch bearer was none other than Maria Esther Bueno, Brazil's most successful tennis player ever, with seven Grand Slam singles titles to her name.

Maria Esther Bueno, now 76 years old, rolled back the years when she carried the torch (Photo: Rio 2016/Fernando Soutello)

Another iconic Brazilian sportswoman, judoka Ketleyn Quadros, also ran with the torch on Sunday. With her bronze at Beijing 2008, she became the first Brazilian woman ever to win an Olympic medal in an individual event. In São Paulo, she was among the most applauded athletes during the day's relay.

Ketleyn Quadros was a powerful presence at the relay on Sunday (Photo: Rio 2016/Fernando Soutello)

Some of Brazil's most popular singers and actors also took part in the festivities, to the delight of young 'paulistas', as the inhabitants of São Paulo are called.

Current pop sensation and icon of black conciousness Ludmilla said she was so excited she could hardly sleep at night. Ludmilla was all smiles when her big moment came in the São Paulo sunshine on Sunday.

Ludmilla is one of Brazil's most popular, and charismatic, pop stars (Photo: Rio 2016/Fernando Soutello)

Also participating was Kobra, the street artist who is currently painting one of the world's largest murals in Rio de Janeiro, to commemorate the 2016 Olympic Games.

Like Ludmilla, wildly popular singer and heart throb Luan Santana used Periscope to broadcast his part in the relay live, before both musicians wrapped up the day's events with a joint concert and show, which included the lighting of a commemorative Olympic cauldron to mark the historic day.

Among all the celebrity athletes and artists, there was plenty of space in the relay to recognise unsung heroes such as Father Paolo Parisi, whose church welcomes and helps the many immigrants and refugees that come to this giant city and need support.

It was also a very special day for Laís Souza, a former gymnast who participated in the Games at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. A serious skiing accident in 2015 tragically left her tetraplegic – but on Sunday she was able to accompany the Olympic Torch upright and proud, to the cheers of the crowds.

It was a proud moment for brave Olympian gymnast Laís Souza on Sunday (Photo: Rio 2016/Fernando Soutello)

Foreigners in São Paulo who witnessed the historic torch relay spoke of their love of Brazilian hospitality and their expectations for the Games.

After its memorable tour through São Paulo on Sunday, the relay will be heading to the paulista coast on Monday and entering the neighbouring state of Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, as it moves ever closer towards its final destination: the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the Maracanã stadium on 5 August.