The London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) announced on Wednesday that the first details of the lighting of the Olympic Flame and its 70-day travel around the UK to be started in May.

Organized by the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC), the Olympic Flame will be lit mid-morning (BST) on May 10 using the sun's rays at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, in a traditional hour-long ceremony among the historic ruins of the home of the ancient Games.

From the Lighting Ceremony in Olympia, the HOC will take the Olympic Flame on an 8-day relay around Greece before arriving at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens on May 17 for the official handover ceremony. During an early evening hour-long ceremony, the Olympic Flame will be handed over to a London 2012 representative.

British Airways, the official airline partner of the London 2012 Games, will carry the Olympic Flame on board flight "BA2012" - - a gold-liveried aircraft from Athens into the UK on May 18.

The Flame will travel in a ceremonial lantern that is secured in a specially designed cradle which is, in turn, firmly fixed to its seat on the plane using a secure holding device.

The Flame will arrive into the UK at Royal Naval Air Station ( RNAS) Culdrose on early evening (BST) of May 18.

On the morning of May 19, the Flame will then travel from RNAS to Land's End ready for the start of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay.

The Olympic Flame will travel 8,000 miles across the UK to within 10 miles of 95 percent of the population. 8,000 torchbearers will carry the Olympic Flame for approximately 300 meters each, passing the Olympic Flame from torch to torch until it reaches the Olympic Stadium on the eve of 27 July.