With the lighting Wednesday of the Athens 2004 Summer Paralympic Games flame, the countdown for the Opening Ceremony begins. The flame will weave its way across Attica in a relay culminating at the Olympic Stadium on September 17, the day the Games begin. The flame will spend tonight at the ancient Herod Atticus Theater.
The flame will be lit by rubbing two stones together at the temple of Hephaestus in Athens’ Thiseion district, in a reference to the ancient Greek god of fire who was described in myths as having a limp.
From there the flame will begin a relay during which it will pass through 54 municipalities and archaeological sites in the region of Attica. It will be carried over 410 kilometres by 680 torchbearers.
The Paralympic Games end September 28.
Meanwhile, sales of tickets for the Paralympics are picking up speed by the day. About 11,000 to 11,500 tickets are being sold daily. More than 180,000 tickets have already been sold and tickets for the Opening Ceremony and some of the most popular events are nearly depleted. About 40,000 tickets for the Opening Ceremony have already been sold.
