The Olympic torch started its 34-mile tour across the five boroughs of the New York City Saturday morning from Queens' Athens Square Park, one of the most heavily Greek-American neighborhood in the United States.

"It's fitting that the New York City leg of torch relay kicks off from Queens, our most diverse borough in the most diverse city of the world, and end in Times Square, the iconic 'Crossroads of the World' that has come to represent New York to so many around the globe," New York mayor Michael Bloomberg said at an opening ceremony.

Five Greek-American girls in white dress performed a rite with green olive branches and clear water before a grandfather, his daughter and granddaughter from a Greek-American family lit the Olympic flames in the cauldron.

Gold medal-winning Olympic long jumper Bob Beamon became the first torch bearer. Holding high the torch, he started the first leg of the 34-mile relay as hundreds of spectators in the park cheered wildly, waving Greek flags.

After Queens, the torch was carried to the Brooklyn Bridge, another landmark of the city. Then, after a jog past Ground Zero, it will hop a ferry to Staten Island for a quick trip to the Richmond County Ballpark before catching a return boat.

The torch will return to dry land at Chelsea Piers and head towards Bryant Park and Columbus Circle before making its way through the Upper West Side and Harlem to Yankee Stadium.

At sunset, the United Nations, the Greek UN mission and New York City will host a special event to mark the Athens 2004 Olympic torch relay and the Olympic Truce. The relay concluded at Times Square in a spectacular event featuring performances.

The torch will be carried by more than 120 people from the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, including celebrities and ordinary citizens.

New York is the 14th city on the torch's five-continent world tour, which began on March 25 when it was lit at the temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece.

Source: Xinhua