The Olympic torch starts its journey

The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic torch was lit in ancient Olympia, heralding the start of what will be the longest torch relay for any Winter Games, including a trip to space.

The Black Sea resort of Sochi, the first Russian city to stage a Winter Olympics, will receive the flame on Oct. 5 after a short relay in Greece, to kick off a 123-day odyssey culminating at the opening ceremony on Feb. 7.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is eager to deliver a "brilliant" Games to showcase how far Russia has come since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

New International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach addressed the guests on his first official assignment since succeeding Jacques Rogge.

On a hot autumn day, actress Ino Menegaki, playing the High Priestess, lit the torch in seconds

as the sun's rays bounced off a concave mirror at the birthplace of the ancient Olympics,

A ritual first established for the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

After leaving Greece, the flame will travel to outer space, the bottom of Lake Baikal,the North Pole and Europe's highest peak in the mammoth run across the vast country,carried by a record 14,000 torch bearers.Ice hockey player Alexander Ovechkin was the first Russian to run with the torch after Greek Alpine skier Giannis Antoniou kicked off the relay.

It will eventually travel across 83 regions in Russia and 2,900 settlements on its 65,000-kilometre route through and around the world’s largest country.