The flame, which was lit in ancient Olympia, was handed over to the British delegation in a ceremony in Athens on Thursday and was transported from the Greek capital in a passenger jet renamed The Firefly for the occasion accompanied by soccer star David Beckham and Princess Anne, according to AFP.

Sailor Ben Ainslie, who has won gold medals in sailing at the last three Olympics, was the first torchbearer of the Olympic flame which then passed it to 18-year-old Anastassia Swallow, a surfer.

On its first day, the torch will travel 136 miles on the first day of the Relay, starting at the Land’s End Signpost in Cornwall and ending at the Hoe in Plymouth for the first Evening Celebration.

During the next 10 days, 8000 people will carry the torchas it makes its journey around Britain and heads for the Olympic Stadium in London where the opening ceremony on July 27 is to take place.

It will travel through 1019 cities, towns and villages and visit landmarks such as Stonehenge.

From June 3-7, it will go to Northern Ireland and then the Republic of Ireland which make it the only country outside the United Kingdom on the torch route, accoridng to BBC.

No overseas legs of the relay have been scheduled this year after those before the 2008 Beijing Games were hit by protests against China, AFP reported. London is the only city to host the Games twice with the first time being in 1948.