Today in Athens, Greece, the Olympic torch has been lit. The first carrier is a Vasilis Dimitriadis, a 31 year old skier.

The torch will follow a symbolic relay in Greece and in Canada.

“More than just a sporting event, the Games offer us a unique moment to serve the cause of humanity and celebrate the human spirit,” Vancouver Organizing Committee CEO John Furlong said.

Bad weather disrupted the meticulously choreographed ceremony for the last three Winter Olympics – Turin, Salt Lake City and Nagano – and officials had to use backup flames kindled at rehearsals.

In addition to good weather, Thursday’s ceremony also had a lack of protesters. Vancouver relay officials had worried that activists would be on hand to protest against seal hunting in Canada.

The lighting took place as several thousand people sat on the edge of the stadium. Many were tourists who happened to be in Olympia on excursions. But there was a small corps of Canadians who had made the pilgrimage to Olympia just to see the lighting.

Three days ago, the UN General Assembly adopted the Olympic Truce Resolution for the Vancouver Games, inviting the UN member States to observe and promote peace during Games time in order to protect the interests of athletes and sport in general, and to contribute, through sport, to the quest for peaceful and diplomatic solutions to the world’s conflicts. The Olympic Torch Relay that started today in Olympia will allow the people of the world to be inspired by this message of peace.