The Olympic Flame was officially handed over to London in a ceremony at Athens' Panathenaic Stadium on Thursday.
The historic event took place in a rain-hit sundown ceremony at the stadium in Athens, venue of the first modern Olympics in 1896.
David Beckham was at the ancient Panathenaic Stadium to help collect the flame and bring it back home.
The historic event took place in a rain-hit sundown ceremony at the stadium in Athens, venue of the first modern Olympics in 1896.
The flame has been handed over to London to host the Games for the third time since the birth of the Olympics - in 1908, 1948 and now 2012. No other city has staged the Games three times.
Despite the buzz triggered by the last-minute news that the LA Galaxy star and former England skipper was flying in specially to be part of the ancient ceremony, the more formal duties came down to the Princess Royal as leader of the British delegation to Athens.
The flame was handed to the Princess, who was watched closely by other members of the official delegation including London 2012 chairman Lord Coe, Olympics minister Hugh Robertson, London mayor Boris Johnson, Beckham and five British sporting teenagers.
The youngsters were picked by London 2012 for displaying Olympic values. During the ceremony they exchanged symbolic olive branches to the tune of John Lennon's Imagine.
The five, who come from different national regions, are from schools and colleges which are part of London 2012's Get Set education network and school linking programmes run by the British Council.
The Olympic Flame has been taken on a relay around the Greek mainland and islands since it was lit by the rays of the sun in ancient Olympia last week.
It has visited Crete, Piraeus, Thessalonica, Xanthi and Larissa, among other places.
The torchbearers have been taking it from Olympia to the Panathenaic Stadium. The Olympic flame was "laid to rest" at the Acropolis overnight before being taken on the eighth and final day of its Greek relay - taking it to the Acropolis Museum, the centre of Athens, Zappeio and to the handover ceremony.
The British delegates fly back tomorrow evening, landing at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall, where they will attend a special ceremony welcoming the flame.