The Jakarta leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay has successfully concluded. It began at 2 p.m. local time in the Bung Karno Sports Complex.

Jiang Xiaoyu, vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee of Olympic Games, handed over the torch to Rita Subowo, president of the National Olympic Committee of Indonesia. Subowo said it was a great honor for the country to receive the Olympic flame for the first time.

"It is a great honor for Indonesia to be one of the 19 countries to hold the Beijing Olympic torch relay. This is a historic moment for Indonesia. I hope all of our people support the Beijing Olympic Games. For one thing, Beijing has done a large amount of preparatory work, and for another, we are going to protect our athletes to be able to compete in the games."

80 torchbearers of government officials, sports celebrities, artists and noted environmental activists ran on a route of 7 kilometers inside the country's largest sports complex.

Thousands of spectators cheered the runners and waved Chinese and Indonesian flags along the route.

Taufik Hidayat, the defending Olympic champion in the men's badminton singles, served as the last torchbearer.

"I feel very proud. Many athletes have won the champion, and I am chosen to be the torch bearer. It is a glory for me."

The Olympic flame is scheduled to arrive in Canberra on Wednesday for the 15th stop of its global journey.