Carrying the 2010 Olympics Torch: Olympia, Greece to Vancouver, Canada

This Thursday, October 22, at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece, the Olympic flame will be lit symbolizing another Olympic Games.  A torch relay around Greece will follow, until October 29.  Then the flame will be handed over to Canada’s Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean at the Panatheneon Stadium in Athens, site of the 1896 Olympic Games revival.

The Palaestra, Olympia

The flame will be transported in a special lantern via a military aircraft, arriving in Victoria B.C. on Nov. 1, at the B.C. Parliament Buildings where an official ceremony will be held before the torch sets off on it’s long relay around the country on a 106 day torch Odyssey.  12,000 torches are being prepared for the relay.  They are specially made to withstand rain, wind, and snow and will be carried by a thousand people, young and old, chosen from across Canada.

Vancouver’s Mayor Greg Robertson  and Provincial Premier Gordon Campbell will be on hand in Greece for the torch lighting as well as other VANOC officials.  When the flame reaches Victoria on November 1,  it will be the beginning of many celebrations marking the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.  Route parties are planned in all the communities where it will pass through so people can come out to enjoy this once in a lifetime opoprtunity.

Victoria, B.C.

From Victoria, the torch will be carried up Island to Nanaimo, then across to the Island’s west coast to Tofino.  At Tofin0, 72 year old Ruth Sadler, a professional surfer, will carry the torch along a section of the Pacific Rim National Park, and into the water where she will be met by another surfer, Ralph Bruhwiler who will ride in on a wave to accept the flame. From there the torch will be carried up to Campbell River, then on to the Queen Charlotte Islands, eventually reaching the Mainland.  The torch will spend five days in British Columbia before heading up to the N.W Territories and its long journey across the country, passing through hundreds of communities before returning to Vancouver, to the B.C. Place Stadium by February 2010 for the start of the Games.

Vancouver skyline with B.C. Place Stadium