To say that Greece is in financial trouble is like claiming that the Titanic had some water leak issues. The country that gave the world, among other things, the Olympic Games, is in the mire of an economic crisis that threatens the very core of the Eurozone – and, at this point, the light at the end of the tunnel may very well be the train that’s coming…

Nevertheless, life goes on not only for the rest of the world but for Greeks, too. London may be hosting the 2012 Olympic Games, but as always, the flame that will burn during the games will be lit in Ancient Olympia, in the Western Peloponnese, on May 10.

Having already been stripped of the 2013 Mediterranean Games last year due to financial difficulties and seeing them being handed over to Turkey was indeed quite a blow. With the recession getting deeper with each passing day, even simple things that were taken for granted, like the torch relay, were at risk.

According to a BBC News report, the 1,800-mile torch relay will go ahead as scheduled thanks to the contribution of several companies, among which is BMW.

The relay will take place in Greece from May 10-17 and the torch will be carried around 40 towns before being flown to the UK on May 18.

There, for the next 70 days, it will travel around the country carried by 7,300 volunteers and 700 athletes and celebrities. Its UK journey will begin at Land’s End on May 19 and end in London on July 27.

Spyros Capralos, the president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, said that the relay would take place anyway because “it is too important an opportunity to promote Greece”.

He admitted, howeber, that the additional funds provided by contributors such as the BMW Group will prevent the HOC from scaling down the event in order to cut costs.

“It’s going all around the country”, said Capralos, “to remind all our fellow countrymen of the importance of the torch, the importance of the Olympic Games, that everything started from here.”

Not that it will be much comfort to the vast majority of Greek citizens who might remember where it all started from and how the 2004 Games that were hosted in Athens were received, but would rather forget how much they cost…

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