The Olympic flame of the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 was lit on Tuesday 24 July at a ceremony held at the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, the venue of the inaugural Olympic Games of the modern era in 1896.

Futsal has a prominent place on the Buenos Aires 2018 programme, with the Men’s Youth Olympic Futsal Tournament and the Women’s Youth Olympic Futsal Tournament taking place in the Argentinian capital on 7-18 October.

“The lighting of the flame today marks the start of Buenos Aires 2018,” said Gerardo Werthein, the president of the Buenos Aires 2018 Local Organising Committee, at the ceremony. “We will carry it with pride to the southern hemisphere, where we will light up the world with the inspirational message of Olympism and its values.”

In the two months leading up to the Youth Olympic Games the flame will travel 14,000 kilometres through Argentina, promoting the Olympic values of friendship, respect and excellence.

South American youth cycling champions Valentina Munoz and Yoel Vargas carried the flame at the ceremony, accompanied by Argentinian cycling legend Walter Perez, a gold medallist at the Olympic Games Beijing 2008.

You can watch the ceremony in full below.