An iconic stadium packed with 30,000 people, a bright blue spring sky, and dancers representing the diversity of Brazilian and Greek culture – the Olympic flame passed into the care of the Rio 2016 Organising Commitee in epic style in Athens on Wednesday (27 April).

In a ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium, the last event of the Rio 2016 Torch Relay to be staged on Greek soil, the iconic symbol of Olympism was placed in Brazilian hands by the nation that created the Games.

“The symbolism of receiving the Olympic flame at this location is very emotional, and it is a very large responsibility”

Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman

The ceremony mixed elements of Brazilian and Greek dance (Rio 2016/Andre Luiz Mello/HOC)

Two hours before the start of the event, a large queue had formed outside the famous old stadium that hosted the first Olympic Games of the modern era, in 1896. The ceremony celebrated Greek and Brazilian culture, with part of the choreography featuring an instrumental version of Cidade Maravilhosa, André Filho's 1935 Rio Carnaval hit that has since become the city's anthem.

Greek Olympic Committee President Spyros Capralos passes the flame to Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman
(Photo: Rio 2016/Andre Luiz Mello)

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Among those watching under the warm Greek sun was Brazilian Érica Quaresma, a 36-year-old publicist, who has lived in Athens for 15 years. She was there with friends “from all over Brazil” for what she described as “a historical moment for both countries”.In a similar vein, Brazil Sport Minister Ricardo Leyser said: “It's a universal message about the union of peoples, about sporting values, which the Greeks created centuries ago and that was then recreated for the modern Olympic Games. This is what the flame represents.”

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The ceremony featured a Brazilian capoeira performance (Photo: Rio 2016/Andre Luiz Mello)

The ceremony featured traditional Greek dancing, as well as the more modern zorba dance, and a performance by local popstar Sakis Rouvas, along with aspects of Brazilian culture such as capoeira and samba. Rio 2016's head of culture, Carla Camurati said: “We wanted to give a different snippet, we want to show a distinct Rio, beyond the obvious. It was a soundtrack with samba, but it also showed the cultural diversity of Brazil.”

Before arriving in Brasília on 3 May for the start of the Brazilian stage of the torch relay, the flame will visit the United Nations headquarters and Olympic Museum in Switzerland, setting off for the Alpine nation on Thursday (28 April). In Brazil it will be carried by about 12,000 torchbearers over 95 days during which it will visit more than 300 towns and cities.

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The 30,000 crowd featured a number of noisy, colourful Brazilians (Photo: Rio 2016/Andre Luiz Mello)

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Rio 2016 Olympic Torch lit in traditional ceremony at Olympia