Photo Courtesy of VANOC/COVAN
Posted: Friday, October 30, 2009
A 106 day Olympic torch relay is now underway in Canada. The
Olympic flame arrived in British Columbia today from Greece. It
will wind throughout our northern neighbor until the Opening
Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Games next February in Vancouver.
Correspondent Tom Banse reports.
Vancouver Olympic organizers have mapped out the longest
domestic torch relay in Olympic history. The odyssey kicked off in
Victoria with a celebration on the lawn of the Parliament Building.
The CBC carried the sendoff by Vancouver organizing committee
CEO John Furlong.
Furlong: “You were here of what we hope will be a wonderful
journey for all of us. This promises to be an extraordinary chapter
in our country’s history. See you all in Vancouver!”
From Victoria, the torch travels by foot, ferry, airplane, and
dogsled nearly to the North Pole, then east to Newfoundland,
before looping back to the West Coast. Torchbearers will be
accompanied by heavy security in case of protests. The Olympic
flame skirts the US border above north Idaho, eastern Washington
and again at the Peace Arch. But the flame will never actually cross
into the U.S. Northwest.
Copyright 2009 KUOW
On the web:
Olympic
Torch Relay Interactive Map