The Hellenic (Greek) Olympic Committee has revealed details about this month’s traditional ceremonies for lighting the Olympic flame and handing it over to Brazil for its journey to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games .

The flame will be lit at Olympia, the site of the ancient Games, on 21 April in an elaborate ceremony in front of the Temple of the Goddess Hera. The torch will then embark on a six-day relay across the majority of Greek territory, including the iconic town of Marathonas and the islands of Zante and Corfu, covering 2,235km (1,388 miles) and visiting seven archaeological sites.

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In total, 450 people will carry the torch in the Greek section of the Olympic Torch Relay. One of those will be a so-far unnamed Syrian refugee who has claimed asylum in Greece. At the camp for refugees and migrants in Eleonas, western Athens, the Syrian will bear the torch in the name of all refugees .

The relay will end in a ceremony on 27 April at the Panathinaiko Stadium, the venue for the historic Athens 1896 Olympic Games, where the Olympic torch will be formally handed over to Brazil. Greek popstar Sakis Rouvas will perform at the ceremony.

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Check out the route of the Greek Olympic Torch Relay:

After leaving Greece, the torch will go on display at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, until 2 May when it sets off for Brazil. The Rio 2016 Olympic torch relay will begin its tour of Brazil on 3 May in the capital city, Brasilia.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the first lighting of the flame in modern times, for the Berlin 1936 Olympic Games.

Spyros Capralos, President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, said: “The lighting of the flame links the ancient and modern civilizations and presents to every generation the ideals and values that were born in Ancient Greece and then travelled across the whole world, giving physical substance to the meanings of culture and peace.”

Priestesses perform during the lighting ceremony for London 2012 Olympic Torch (Getty Images/ Milos Bicanski)

Ancient tradition with modern touch

The lighting of the flame follows elaborate rituals that are part of an ancient tradition . Greek actress Katarina Lehou will play High Priestess of the Goddess Hera and use a parabolic mirror to light the Olympic flame directly from the sun’s rays. Lehou will be supported by a retinue of priestesses, who will wear costumes designed by London-born Greek-Cypriot designer Eleni Kyriacou, who trained under Alexander McQueen. A procession will then move on to the ancient stadium, where, dressed in archaic costumes, priestesses and male dancers will perform a choreography inspired by Ancient Greece to the sounds of flutes, lyres, bagpipes and percussive instruments.