2010 Winter Olympics torch relay

XXI Olympic Winter Games
Host city Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Countries visited Greece, Canada, United States
See full route
Torch bearers 12,000 approx.
Start date October 30, 2009
End date February 12, 2010
Torch designer Leo Obstbaum
The torch passing by Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador on November 13th, 2009.
The flame is passed in Moncton, New Brunswick on November 23, 2009.
A closeup of the 2010 Olympic Torch.
Photo of one of the miniature displays used to show the flame during the community celebrations.


The 2010 Winter Olympics Torch Relay was a 106-day run, from October 30, 2009 to February 12, 2010, prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics. Plans for the relay were originally announced November 21, 2008 by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). Communities were initially informed in June 2008, but the locations were not announced for "security reasons".[1] Exact routes were later announced several weeks before the start of the torch relay.[1]

The torches used in the Olympic relay were designed by Leo Obstbaum (1969–2009), the late director of design for the 2010 Winter Games.[2]

There were an estimated 12,000 torchbearers, including notable Canadian celebrities such as Shania Twain, Simon Whitfield, Silken Lauman, Alexandre Despatie and Catriona Le May Doan and past and present NHL hockey stars including Sidney Crosby, Wayne Gretzky, and the captains of the Vancouver Canucks teams that went to the Stanley Cup Finals, Trevor Linden (1994)[3] and Stan Smyl (1982). In fact, many television personalities were selected as torchbearers for the relay, mainly from CTV's parent company, CTVglobemedia. Matt Lauer and American actor, bodybuilder, and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger were also torch bearers.

On 22 October 2009 the Olympic Torch was lit during a ceremony held at the Ancient Olympia in Greece. Actress Maria Nafpliotou played the role of the High Priestess and ignited the flame using a parabolic mirror and the sun's ray. The first torch was carried by Olympic skier Vassilis Dimitriadis.[4]

Kept under close secrecy, the final Olympic Torchbearer turned out to be not one, but five final torchbearers. Rick Hansen brought it into BC Place Stadium, in turn lighting Catriona Le May Doan's torch, who lit Steve Nash's torch, and the flame continued to Nancy Greene and Wayne Gretzky. Three of the four torchbearers lit the indoor Olympic Cauldron; Le May Doan was left standing due to a malfunction causing only three of the four arms to be raised. Gretzky exited BC Place, with his torch still lit, and caught a ride on the back of a VANOC vehicle, to Coal Harbour, where he lit the outdoor Cauldron. This makes Gretzky the first person to light two official cauldrons in the same Olympics.

At the start of the closing ceremony, Le May Doan re-lit the indoor Cauldron after clown and mime Yves Dagenais "fixed" and "raised" the arm that malfunctioned in the opening ceremony.

Relay elements

Torch

Main article: Olympic Flame

The torches used for 2010 relay and the lighting ceremonies are made by designers at Bombardier Inc.'s Aerospace division.[5]

Route

  1. Before October 30: Olympia, Greece
  2. October 30: Victoria, British Columbia loop
  3. October 31: Victoria to Nanaimo
  4. November 1: Nanaimo to Tofino
  5. November 2: Tofino to Courtenay to Campbell River
  6. November 3: Campbell River to Whitehorse, Yukon
  7. November 4: Whitehorse to Inuvik, Northwest Territories
  8. November 5: Inuvik to Yellowknife, briefly entering Nunavut
  9. November 6: Yellowknife to Cold Lake, Alberta
  10. November 7: Cold Lake to Churchill, Manitoba, going through Saskatchewan
  11. November 8: Churchill to Alert, Nunavut
  12. November 9: Alert to Iqaluit
  13. November 10: Iqaluit to Gaspé, Quebec
  14. November 11: Sept-Îles to Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador
  15. November 12: Happy Valley-Goose Bay to St. John's
  16. November 13: St. John's loop
  17. November 14: St. John's to Grand Falls-Windsor
  18. November 15: Grand Falls-Windsor to Channel-Port aux Basques
  19. November 16: Channel-Port aux Basques to Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia
  20. November 17: Port Hawkesbury to Truro
  21. November 18: Truro to Halifax, Nova Scotia
  22. November 19: Halifax loop
  23. November 20: Halifax to Lunenburg
  24. November 21: Lunenburg to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
  25. November 22: Charlottetown to Summerside
  26. November 23: Summerside to Moncton, New Brunswick
  27. November 24: Moncton to Saint John
  28. November 25: Saint John to Fredericton
  29. November 26: Not travelling, staying in Fredericton.
  30. November 27: Fredericton to Bathurst
  31. November 28: Bathurst to Edmundston
  32. November 29: Edmundston to Rimouski, Quebec
  33. November 30: Rimouski to Baie-Comeau, Quebec
  34. December 1: Baie-Comeau to Saguenay(Alma)
  35. December 2: Saguenay to Quebec City
  36. December 3: Quebec City to Lévis
  37. December 4: Lévis to Saint-Georges
  38. December 5: Saint-Georges to Sherbrooke
  39. December 6: Sherbrooke to Trois-Rivières
  40. December 7: Trois-Rivières to Longueuil
  41. December 8: Longueuil to Beaconsfield
  42. December 8: Beaconsfield to Kahnawake
  43. December 9: Kahnawake to Mont-Tremblant
  44. December 10: Mont-Tremblant to Montreal
  45. December 11: Montreal to Gatineau
  46. December 12: Gatineau to Ottawa, Ontario
  47. December 13: Ottawa loop
  48. December 14: Ottawa to Kingston
  49. December 15: Kingston to Peterborough
  50. December 16: Peterborough to Oshawa
  51. December 17: Oshawa to Toronto
  52. December 18: Toronto to Brampton
  53. December 19: Brampton to Hamilton
  54. December 20: Hamilton to Niagara Falls
  55. December 21: Niagara Falls to Brantford
  56. December 22: Brantford to Chatham
  57. December 23: Chatham to Windsor
  58. December 24: Windsor to London
  59. December 25: Not travelling, staying in London.
  60. December 26: Not travelling, staying in London.
  61. December 27: London to Kitchener
  62. December 28: Kitchener to Owen Sound
  63. December 29: Owen Sound to Barrie
  64. December 30: Barrie to North Bay
  65. December 31: North Bay to Val-d'Or, Quebec
  66. January 1, 2010: Val-d'Or to Timmins, Ontario
  67. January 2: Timmins to Sault Ste. Marie
  68. January 3: Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay
  69. January 4: Thunder Bay to Kenora
  70. January 5: Kenora to Winnipeg, Manitoba
  71. January 6: Winnipeg loop
  72. January 7: Winnipeg to Portage la Prairie
  73. January 8: Portage la Prairie to Brandon
  74. January 9: Brandon to Regina
  75. January 10: Regina to Swift Current
  76. January 11: Swift Current to Saskatoon to Prince Albert
  77. January 12: Prince Albert to Lloydminster
  78. January 13: Lloydminster to Edmonton, Alberta
  79. January 14: Not travelling, staying in Edmonton.
  80. January 15: Edmonton to Red Deer
  81. January 16: Red Deer to Medicine Hat
  82. January 17: Medicine Hat to Lethbridge
  83. January 18: Lethbridge to Crossfield
  84. January 19: Calgary to Airdrie
  85. January 20: Calgary to Banff
  86. January 21: Banff to Golden, British Columbia
  87. January 22: Golden to Cranbrook
  88. January 23: Cranbrook to Nelson
  89. January 24: Nelson to Osoyoos
  90. January 25: Osoyoos to Kelowna
  91. January 26: Kelowna to Revelstoke
  92. January 27: Revelstoke to Kamloops
  93. January 28: Kamloops to Williams Lake
  94. January 29: Williams Lake to Prince George
  95. January 30: Prince George to Smithers
  96. January 31: Smithers to Fort St. John
  97. February 1: Fort St. John to Prince Rupert
  98. February 2: Prince Rupert to Port Hardy
  99. February 3: Port Hardy to Powell River
  100. February 4: Powell River to Squamish
  101. February 5: Squamish to Whistler
  102. February 6: Whistler to Merritt
  103. February 7: Merritt to Abbotsford
  104. February 8: Abbotsford to Surrey
  105. February 9: Surrey to Richmond (The torch briefly went into the United States at the Peace Arch in Surrey, British Columbia and Blaine, Washington)
  106. February 10: Richmond to West Vancouver, British Columbia
  107. February 11: West Vancouver to Vancouver
  108. February 12: Within Vancouver to BC Place Stadium

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Glynn, Douglas (2008-11-22). "Olympic Torch will pass through Midland in 2009". Midland Free Press. Midland, Ontario: Osprey Media. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  2. ↑ Wingrove, Josh (2009-08-21). "Vancouver Olympic designer dies at age 40". Globe and Mail. CTV Television Network. Archived from the original on 30 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
  3. ↑ CBC Sports (September 15, 2009). "Trevor Linden to run Olympic torch relay". CBCSports.ca. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  4. ↑ Lee, Jeff (October 22, 2009). "Olympic flame lit, begins journey to Vancouver for 2010 Games". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 24 October 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
  5. ↑

External links

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