<p>The tranquil proceedings were a far cry from the protests seen in 2008, when human rights activists disrupted the globally televised Beijing Olympics event on the site of the ancient Olympic stadium in southwestern Greece. <br /><br />Their actions triggered a chain of protests that followed the torch relay throughout its journey to China. <br /><br />Organisers expect some protests at the February 12-28 Olympics in the western Canadian city of Vancouver over civil liberties and the use of what some claim is ‘native American land’. However, the rehearsal for Thursday's ceremony went without a hitch as tourists watched peacefully while a Greek actress dressed as a High Priestess lit the torch with a concave mirror reflecting the sun's rays before handing it to a skier. <br /><br />Thursday's ceremony will kick-off an eight-day torch relay of over 2,000km throughout Greece before the torch is handed over to the Canadian organisers in Athens' Panathenian stadium, which hosted the first modern Olympics in 1896. <br /><br />The flame is a link with the ancient Olympics, which first took place in 776 BC, after a fire burnt throughout the sporting celebration to commemorate its theft from Zeus by Prometheus.</p>
<p>The tranquil proceedings were a far cry from the protests seen in 2008, when human rights activists disrupted the globally televised Beijing Olympics event on the site of the ancient Olympic stadium in southwestern Greece. <br /><br />Their actions triggered a chain of protests that followed the torch relay throughout its journey to China. <br /><br />Organisers expect some protests at the February 12-28 Olympics in the western Canadian city of Vancouver over civil liberties and the use of what some claim is ‘native American land’. However, the rehearsal for Thursday's ceremony went without a hitch as tourists watched peacefully while a Greek actress dressed as a High Priestess lit the torch with a concave mirror reflecting the sun's rays before handing it to a skier. <br /><br />Thursday's ceremony will kick-off an eight-day torch relay of over 2,000km throughout Greece before the torch is handed over to the Canadian organisers in Athens' Panathenian stadium, which hosted the first modern Olympics in 1896. <br /><br />The flame is a link with the ancient Olympics, which first took place in 776 BC, after a fire burnt throughout the sporting celebration to commemorate its theft from Zeus by Prometheus.</p>
