Hollywood rolls out red carpet for Olympic flame
Wed Jun 16, 1:40 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Hollywood rolled out the red carpet for the Olympic flame as actor Sylvester Stallone launched the Los Angeles leg of the torch relay that will end at the Athens Olympics opening ceremony.

Under overcast skies, Los Angeles Mayor Jim Hahn ignited the torch from the Olympic flame that arrived overnight from Mexico.

The flame had been carried through the streets of Mexico City on Tuesday.

Hahn handed off to Stallone, who jogged through a boistrous crowd, many carrying blue balloons, at Los Angeles' Venice Beach.

In all, 140 Angelenos were carry the torch throughout Los Angeles - the first of four US cities that will participate in the relay. From Los Angeles the flame will head to St. Louis, Missouri, then to the site of the 1996 Summer Games - Atlanta, Georgia - and New York.

Stallone was not the only celebrity taking part in the celebrations.

Shortly before 7pm, actor Tom Cruise was to carry the torch into Dodger Stadium, then hand the flame to World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, who was to pass it on to four-time Olympic swimming gold medallist Janet Evans.

Evans was to turn it over to Olympic track and field gold medalist Rafer Johnson, who will light the ceremonial cauldron before the start of the Dodgers baseball game against Baltimore.

Johnson, 69, won the gold in the decathlon at the 1960 Olympics in Rome and was part of the torch relay at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and the final torchbearer for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Johnson, Hahn and International Olympic Committee member Anita DeFrantz were scheduled to speak.

But before that, the torch had to wind its way through Los Angeles, carried not only by celebrities but also by local "heroes" selected for their contributions to their communities.

"We have three great sites, it's moving from the west to the east," relay spokesman Tim Lebercht said. "We're going to the LA City Hall to the Coliseum, we're going to be on Hollywood Boulevard, and we also have a strong involvement of the Greek community here greeting the flame coming from Athens."

Comedian Ellen DeGeneres predicted being an Olympic torchbearer would be "a real thrill," while Cruise called it an honor.

"The Olympic Games are a vital and much needed activity to support and bolster international goodwill and cooperation, and I am proud to do what I can to help," he said.

The flame's 46,800-mile (75,317-km) journey began June 4. It passed through Africa and South America for the first time. The relay will make a final trip around Greece before arriving in Athens for the opening ceremony August 13.

- Craig