ATHENS, Jan 18: The Beijing Games torch-lighting ceremony at ancient Olympia could be held against a backdrop of burnt tree stumps if the Greek government does not move quickly to restore the site, the Greek Olympic Committee said on Friday.

Forest fires that swept through much of the western Peloponnese in August, burning hundreds of thousands of acres of land and killing more than 65 people, have also destroyed parts of the forest in and around ancient Olympia.

On March 24, the Olympic flame will start its 137,000km (85,000 mile) journey through 20 cities on five continents from Olympia, where the first Games took place in 776 BC.

But this time, the ceremony will take place in an area badly damaged by the fires, which torched pine and olive trees and bushes inside the ancient site including around the ancient stadium and the temple of Hera.

Among the areas most badly damaged is the Olympic academy which once was surrounded by a lush pine forest and a cypress-ringed clearing with a monument to the founder of the modern Games Pierre de Coubertin, where his heart is buried.

When the first relay runner leaves the ancient stadium, the athlete traditionally kneels before the monument to pay tribute to Coubertin before the start of the relay. This time, the runner could be surrounded by charred tree trunks and a bare hill overlooking the site.

“The current image of the de Coubertin monument is a cause for great sadness,” the HOC said.

The government had pledged to plant thousands of trees and bushes and restore some of the area ahead of the Beijing torch-lighting ceremony but progress has for far been slow. Neither the culture ministry nor the antiquities department in Olympia were available for comment on restoration progress.—Reuters