Deputy Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic Panagiotis Pikrammenos, President of the HOC Spyros Capralos, and Special Representative and Vice-President of Beijing 2022 Yu Zaiqing attended the handover ceremony.

During the ceremony, the famous Greek actress Sansi Giorgiou, the High Priestess and other priestesses led the torchbearer Evi Moraitidou, Greek water polo silver medallist of the Athens 2004 Olympics, with the flame into the stadium.

In the following torch relay, Moraitidou passed the torch to Li Nina, a Chinese former freestyle aerial skier, who then passed it to Paraskevi Ladopoulou, a Greek cross country and biathlon athlete. Ladopoulou ran to the priestesses after receiving the flame and lit the cauldron beside them.

Li Nina is one of the greatest snow sports athletes in China. She won a silver medal at both the 2006 Turin Winter Olympic Games and the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games and won the world championships in aerials three times from 2005 to 2009. Ladopoulou is the Greek champion in all categories, has won titles in the Balkans and holds the best international result (FIS points) among Greek athletes in recent years. She's already qualified for cross-country skiing at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

In his speech, Yu Zaiqing, on behalf of Beijing 2022, thanked the Hellenic Republic, the HOC and the Greek people for their thoughtful arrangements and great support of the Flame Lighting and Handover ceremonies. He also said that in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Beijing 2022 will adhere to the principle of health and safety first, and innovate new formats for the Olympic Torch Relay by combining the Olympic Flame exhibition tour with the traditional Olympic Torch Relay, which will create a unique journey.

"Beijing is making history as the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. We are very happy because, by giving you the Olympic Flame, we also become a part of this history," said Capralos.