DHAKA: The Olympic flame for the Sochi 2014 Winter Games touched down in Moscow on Sunday after travelling from Greece, where it was lit.

The flame was held in two special containers in a seat on a chartered Aeroflot flight from Athens that landed at the city’s Vnukovo International Airport.

It was to be received by a guard of honour on the tarmac before a ceremony near the terminal building. From there, the flame will be transported to Red Square in central Moscow in a bikers` convoy.

The flame was kindled in a traditional ceremony in Ancient Olympia last Sunday and toured Greece before arriving in the Russian capital for the longest torch relay in history, a 123-day, 56,000-kilometer marathon across nine time zones.

The domestic relay itself is to begin Monday, but on Sunday there will be a mini-relay within the Kremlin in the presence of president Vladimir Putin, reports The Voice of Russia.

The February 7-23 event will mark the first time that Russia has ever hosted the Winter Games.

Moscow hosted the 1980 Summer Games when it was still a part of the Soviet Union.

BDST: 1643 HRS, OCT 06, 2013
RoR/RK