The Olympic flame embarked on the first leg of the international torch relay today as it headed to Sydney aboard a customised aircraft dubbed Zeus.
The flame arrived at the airport in its own "magic lantern" that will house it while airborne on its 27-country tour over the next 38 days. Previous torch processions at Sydney and Atlanta were largely domestic affairs with a brief international leg.
More than 200 people in two chartered jets will accompany the $45 million relay that will take the flame for the first time to all five continents, including debut legs in Africa and Latin America.
When it arrives in Sydney the flame in the lantern will be used to light the torch that will then be passed to thousands of runners, before returning to Greece.
Sydney 400 metres champion Cathy Freeman will be the first torchbearer in Sydney, the last city to host the summer games.
Celebrities from U.S. actress Angelina Jolie to Japanese pop singer Yukio Hashi and thousands of other runners, selected for "inspirational community work", will be among the 3,600 torchbearers. In Brazil, soccer internationals Ronaldo, Pele and Zico will be joined by local samba schools for a Rio beach party.