2008 Summer Olympics torch relay route
2008 Olympic Torch Relay. The cancelled Taiwan route is shown in red.
The 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay route involved 21 countries where the Olympic torch was carried between its lighting in Greece in March 2008 and the Olympic opening ceremony in China 's host city of Beijing in August 2008. The relay took place in four separate legs: in Greece, an international leg, in the Special Administrative Region of China (Hong Kong and Macau ), and in mainland China.
The planned route originally included a stop in Taipei between Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Kong, but there was disagreement in Beijing and Taipei over language used to describe whether it was an international or a domestic part of the route. While the Olympic committees of China and Chinese Taipei reached initial consensus on the approach, the government of the Republic of China in Taiwan intervened, stating that this placement could be interpreted as placing Taiwan on the same level as Hong Kong and Macau , an implication it objected to. The Beijing Organizing Committee attempted to continue negotiation,[1] but further disputes arose over the flag or the anthem of the Republic of China along the 24 km torch route in Taiwan.[2] By the midnight deadline for concluding the negotiation on September 21, 2007, Taiwan authorities and Mainland China were unable to come to terms with the issue of the Torch Relay. In the end, both sides of the Taiwan Strait decided to eliminate the Taipei leg.[3]
Route in Greece
International and HK&Macau route
International torch relay route
2008 Olympic Torch Relay's international leg
Date
Country (city)
Length[4]
Notable torchbearers
# of torchbearers[4]
March 31
China (Beijing)
Hu Jintao – paramount leader of PRCLiu Xiang – gold medalist hurdler
April 2
Kazakhstan (Almaty ) (start)Medeo (finish)Astana Square
20 km
Nursultan Nazarbaev – president of Kazakhstan Bakhtiyar Artayev – gold medalist weightlifterYermakhan Ibraimov – boxerYuriy Melnichenko – gold medalist wrestlerAnatoly Khrapaty – weightlifter Vladimir Smirnov – the first Olympic champion for independent Kazakhstan cross-country skiing Roza Rymbaeva – singer[5]
80
April 3
Turkey (Istanbul ) (start)Sultanahmet Square (finish)Taksim Square
20 km
Tuğba Karademir – figure skaterTaner Sağır – champion weightlifter[6]
80
April 5
Russia (St. Petersburg ) (start)Victory Square (finish)Palace Square
20 km
Lyubov Yegorova – cross-country skiingViktor Zhdanovich – fencing Vladimir Salnikov , Alexander Popov , Sergey Kopliakov , Andrey Krylov – gold medalist swimmerAlexander Dityatin – gold medalist artistic gymnastics Tatyana Kazankina – gold medalist runnerAnatoly Alyabyev – gold medalist biathlon Evgeni Plushenko , Tatiana Totmianina , Maxim Marinin , Anton Sikharulidze , Alexei Urmanov , Oksana Kazakova , Artur Dmitriev , Oleg Vasiliev – gold medalist figure skaterSvetlana Zhurova – speed skating Tamara Moskvina – figure skating coachFedor Emelianenko – mixed martial artist Robert Swan – polar explorers Artur Chilingarov – cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova – astronaut Alisa Freindlich – actressAndrei Arshavin – football player[7]
80
April 6
Great Britain (London) (start)Wembley Stadium (finish)The O2 arena
48 km
Kelly Holmes – gold medalist runnerDanny Crates – gold medalist Paralympic runnerSir Trevor McDonald – journalistKonnie Huq – TV PresenterVanessa Mae – classical musicianKevin Pietersen – cricketer Tim Henman – retired tennis playerAmara Karan – actress[8]
80
April 7
France (Paris) (start)Eiffel Tower (finish)Stade Charléty
originally 28 km
Stéphane Diagana – gold medalist runnerDavid Douillet – gold medalist in judoMarie-José Pérec – gold medalist runnerJin Jing – Paralympic fencerThierry Henry – Soccer starTeddy Riner – gold medalist judoka Arnaud Di Pasquale – tennis playerPi Hongyan – badminton playerMary Pierce – tennis player[9]
April 9
United States (San Francisco ) (start)AT&T Park (finish)San Francisco International Airport
unannounced
Lin Li – swimmer
April 11
Argentina (Buenos Aires ) (start)Lola Mora amphitheater (finish) Buenos Aires Riding Club
13.8 km
Carlos Espínola – windsurfer[10] Georgina Bardach , Paola Suárez , Pablo Chacón – athletes
78
April 13
Tanzania (Dar es Salaam ) (start) A railway station of Dar es Salaam (finish)Tanzanian National Stadium
5 km
John Stephen Akhwari – marathonerDorcus Inzikuru – steeplechaser Anna Tibaijuka – Undersecretary general of the United Nations[11]
80
April 14
Oman (Muscat ) (start) place roundabout Al Bustan (where lies the "Sohar" boat which visited China in 1981) (finish) Qurm Natural Park
20 km
80
April 16
Pakistan (Islamabad )
Samiullah Khan – field hockeyJahangir Khan – squash player[12]
65
April 17
India (New Delhi ) (start)Raisina Hill (finish)India Gate
2.3 km
Manavjit Singh Sandhu , Abhinav Bindra – sport shooter [13] Aamir Khan – actor, director
around 70
April 19
Thailand (Bangkok ) (start)Yaowarat Road in Bangkok's Chinatown (finish)Royal Plaza
10 km
Anant Siripasraporn – Deputy Permanent Secretary for Bangkok Metropolitan AdministrationManus Boonjumnong , Somluck Kamsing – gold medalist boxersUdomporn Polsak , Pawina Thongsuk – gold medalist weightlifters[14]
80
April 21
Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur ) (start)Independence Square (finish)Petronas Twin Towers
16.5 km
Cheah Soon Kit , Yap Kim Hock – retired badminton playerNicol David – squash player[15]
80
April 22
Indonesia (Jakarta )
7 km; originally 20 km
Taufik Hidayat , Susi Susanti , Alan Budikusuma – badminton player[16] Fauzi Bowo – governor of Jakarta[17]
80
April 24
Australia (Canberra ) (start)Reconciliation Place (finish)Commonwealth Park
16 km
Ian Thorpe , Jodie Henry , Libby Trickett , Matt Welsh , Adam Pine , Alice Mills , Petria Thomas – gold medalist swimmersRon Clarke – runnerMark Beretta – TV sports reporterTania Major – Aboriginal activist Megan Marcks – coxless pair rowerJonathon Welch – conductor Robert de Castella – gold medalist marathonerLee Kernaghan – singerFiona Stanley – epidemiologist Mark Beretta – sports broadcasterPeter Sharp – Rugby league coachLouise Sauvage – Paralympic wheelchair racerJai Taurima – long jumperFiona Wood – director of Royal Perth Hospital , surgeonHeather McKay – squash player[18]
80
April 26
Japan (Nagano ) (start) Small park in Nagano (finish) Wakasato Park
18.7 km
Senichi Hoshino – baseball managerKosuke Kitajima – gold medalist swimmerMizuki Noguchi – gold medalist runnerAi Fukuhara – table tennis player[19]
80
April 27
South Korea (Seoul ) (start)Olympic Park (finish)City Hall Plaza
22 km
Moon Dae-sung – gold medalist taekwondo Kim Mi-jung – gold medalist judoka Ahn Hyun-soo – gold medalist speed skaterNam Eun-young – gold medalist in handball Kim Soo-nyung – gold medalist archer[20] Bada – singer and musical actressJang Na-ra – singer and actress
70+
April 28
North Korea (Pyongyang ) (start)Tower of Juche Idea (finish) Kim Il Sung Stadium
20 km
Pak Doo-ik – football player
80
April 29
Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City ) (start)Opera House (finish) Military Zone 7 Competition Hall
10 km
60
The opening relay route ceremony was held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre .[21] The song "We are ready" was performed by Eason Chan , Hotcha , EO2 accompanied by Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra , Hong Kong Dance company, Gauido international golden eagle gymnastics team, and senior mixed choir of the Diocesan Girls' School and the Diocesan Boys' School .[22] [23]
Hong Kong and Macau gallery
Torch relay route map
Section 1, Tsim Sha Tsui
Section 2, Tsing Ma Bridge
Section 3A, Sha Tin
Section 3B, Sha Tin Racecourse
Avenue of Stars
Section 5, Victoria Harbour
Central and Wan Chai
Relayer #38: Thomas Kwok (郭炳江)
Relayer #51: Ma Koon-sang (馬觀生)
Fuwa designs along the way
Banners along the way
Route in Mainland China
The total torchbearer counts for each city are available at the official website of the torch relay .
The relay was suspended from May 19 – 21 to honor victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake .
See also
References
^ Wade, Stephen (April 26, 2007). "Taiwan rejects China's torch relay plans" . USA Today . Retrieved April 26, 2007 .
^ "Editorial: New Olympic event: Torch tug-of-war" . The Taipei Times . September 12, 2007.
^ "Taiwan, China Fail to Reach Agreement on Olympic Torch Route" . Archived from the original on November 9, 2007.
^ a b c The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Torch Relay Archived April 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
^ (in Russian) Kazakhstan: Citius! Altius! Fortius! Archived February 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine See also: (in Russian) Olympic Torch Relay Starts in Kazakhstan
^ (in Turkish) Meşaleyi Karademir taşıdı Archived June 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine See also: "Beijing Olympic Flame Lands in Istanbul Today" . Archived from the original on April 14, 2008. Retrieved May 25, 2008 . See also: "Six detained in Olympic torch relay" . Archived from the original on November 20, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2008 . See also: "Flame leaves Istanbul for St. Petersburg" . Archived from the original on April 8, 2008. Retrieved May 25, 2008 .
^ (in Russian) Olympic Torch route in Saint Petersburg with all torchbearers and lap definitions (.doc file) See also: (in Russian) Olympic Torch Will Be Carried By Drouz, Freindlich and Evgeni Plushenko See also: (in Russian) Олимпийский огонь несли Archived October 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
^ "The Torch Relay in London" . Retrieved May 25, 2008 .
^ (in French) "La flamme olympique : le parcours heure par heure (du 06/04 au 07/04)" , Nouvel Observateur , April 8, 2008 See also: "Paris cancels Olympic flame ceremony casting doubt over London's 2012 torch tour" , The Times , April 8, 2008 See also: "Torch relay lights up home of father of modern Olympics" Archived April 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , official torch relay website, April 8, 2008
^ "Olympic torch relay concludes in Buenos Aires" . The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Torch Relay. April 12, 2008. Archived from the original on April 12, 2008. Retrieved April 12, 2008 .
^ "Olympic torch completes relay in Tanzania" , Xinhua, April 13, 2008
^ "Islamabad stages Olympic flame relay in Sports Complex" Archived April 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , official torch relay website, April 16, 2008
^ "Indian torchbearers vow to run for spirit of Olympics" Archived May 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , official torch relay website, April 16, 2008
^ "Olympic flame sheds glee in 'City of Smile'" Archived April 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , official torch relay website, April 19, 2008
^ "Sacred flame sends off sparks in Malaysia" Archived September 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , official torch relay website, April 21, 2008
^ "Indonesian Torch Bearers from legendary athletes" Archived April 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , official torch relay website, April 20, 2008
^ "Indonesian police break up pro-Tibet rally" Archived May 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine , France 24, April 22, 2008
^ "Smooth run for Australia's relay" . BBC News . April 24, 2008. Archived from the original on May 2, 2008. Retrieved May 26, 2008 .
^ China.org. "China.org ." Big names carry Olympic torch through Nagano. Retrieved on July 6, 2008.
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^ Info.gov.hk. "Info.gov.hk ." Hong Kong to greet re-visit of Olympic flame with enthusiasm. Retrieved on April 3, 2008.
^ Youtube.com relay torch ceremony
^ I-Cable May 2, 2008 broadcast
^ (in Chinese) 當局解釋改傳遞路線原因 Archived May 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , Macao Daily News
^ a b Beijing Olympic torch relay kicks off in Chinese mainland , People's Daily .
^ "torchrelay sanya" . Archived from the original on May 6, 2008. Retrieved May 4, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay guangzhou" . Archived from the original on May 10, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay shenzhen" . Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay huizhou" . Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay shantou" . Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay fuzhou" . Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2008 .
^ a b SCMP. "SCMP ." Fuzhou torch relay highlights sports heroines, imperial hero. Retrieved on May 12, 2008.
^ "torchrelay quanzhou" . Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay xiamen" . Archived from the original on May 18, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay longyan" . Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay ruijin" . Archived from the original on May 18, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay jinggangshan" . Archived from the original on May 19, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay zhejiang" . Archived from the original on June 7, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay shaoxing" . Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay hangzhou 1" . Archived from the original on February 18, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay hangzhou 2" . Archived from the original on May 20, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008 .
^ SCMP. "SCMP [permanent dead link ] ." Grey skies fail to dampen spirits. Retrieved on May 25, 2008.
^ "torchrelay shanghai 1" . Archived from the original on May 26, 2008. Retrieved May 25, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay shanghai 2" . Archived from the original on May 26, 2008. Retrieved May 25, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay suzhou" . Archived from the original on May 28, 2008. Retrieved May 25, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay nantong" . Archived from the original on May 28, 2008. Retrieved May 26, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay taizhou" . Archived from the original on May 28, 2008. Retrieved May 26, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay yangzhou" . Archived from the original on May 28, 2008. Retrieved May 26, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay nanjing" . Archived from the original on May 30, 2008. Retrieved May 31, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay hefei" . Archived from the original on May 28, 2008. Retrieved May 31, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay wuhu" . Archived from the original on May 28, 2008. Retrieved May 31, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay jixi" . Archived from the original on May 28, 2008. Retrieved May 31, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay huangshan" . Archived from the original on May 31, 2008. Retrieved May 31, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay wuhan" . Archived from the original on June 22, 2008. Retrieved June 1, 2008 .
^ SCMP. "SCMP ." Karen Mok adds star power. Retrieved on June 1, 2008.
^ "torchrelay yichang" . Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved June 1, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay jingzhou" . Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay yueyang" . Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay changsha" . Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay shaoshan" . Archived from the original on June 8, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay guilin" . Archived from the original on June 9, 2008. Retrieved June 9, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay nanning" . Archived from the original on June 10, 2008. Retrieved June 9, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay baise" . Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved June 9, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay kunming" . Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. Retrieved June 14, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay lijiang" . Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. Retrieved June 14, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay shangri-la" . Archived from the original on June 14, 2008. Retrieved June 14, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay guiyang" . Archived from the original on June 15, 2008. Retrieved June 14, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay kaili" . Archived from the original on June 15, 2008. Retrieved June 14, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay zunyi" . Archived from the original on June 15, 2008. Retrieved June 14, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay chongqing" . Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay urumqi" . Archived from the original on June 23, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay kashi" . Archived from the original on June 23, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008 .
^ "tochrelay shihezi" . Archived from the original on May 28, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay changji" . Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008 .
^ "China stages torch relay in Tibet" . BBC News . June 21, 2008. Archived from the original on July 19, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008 .
^ torchrelay tibet Archived September 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
^ Fan, Maureen (June 22, 2008). "Heavily Guarded Olympic Torch Is Conveyed Through Tibetan Capital" . The Washington Post . Retrieved June 21, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay golmud" . Archived from the original on June 23, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay qinhai" . Archived from the original on June 27, 2008. Retrieved June 27, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay xining" . Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved June 27, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay dunhuang" . Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved June 27, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay pingyao" . Archived from the original on August 3, 2008. Retrieved June 27, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay taiyuan" . Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved June 27, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay datong" . Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved June 27, 2008 .
^ Xinhuanet. "Xinhuanet ." Chinese astronauts take part in Olympic torch relay. Retrieved on July 1, 2008.
^ "torchrelay zhongwei" . Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved July 1, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay wuzhong" . Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved July 1, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay yinchuan" . Archived from the original on July 2, 2008. Retrieved July 1, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay yan'an" . Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay yangling" . Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay xianyang" . Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay xi'an" . Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay dunhuang" . Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved July 1, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay jiayuguan" . Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved July 1, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay lanzhou" . Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved July 1, 2008 .
^ People's daily online. "People's daily online ." Torch passes Genghis Khan's hometown. Retrieved on July 9, 2008.
^ "torchrelay hohhot" . Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay ordos" . Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay baotou" . Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay chifeng" . Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay harbin" . Archived from the original on July 12, 2008. Retrieved July 12, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay daqing" . Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved July 12, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay qiqihar" . Archived from the original on July 17, 2008. Retrieved July 18, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay changchun" . Archived from the original on July 18, 2008. Retrieved July 18, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay songyuan" . Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved July 18, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay jilin" . Archived from the original on August 1, 2008. Retrieved July 18, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay yanji" . Archived from the original on August 1, 2008. Retrieved July 18, 2008 .
^ torchrelay shenyang Archived September 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
^ "torchrelay anshan" . Archived from the original on July 27, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay dalian" . Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay qingdao" . Archived from the original on August 1, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay linyi" . Archived from the original on August 4, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay qufu" . Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay tai'an" . Archived from the original on July 26, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay jinan" . Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay zhengzhou" . Archived from the original on July 29, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2008 .
^ torchrelay kaifeng Archived July 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
^ "torchrelay luoyang" . Archived from the original on August 1, 2008. Retrieved July 31, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay anyang" . Archived from the original on July 31, 2008. Retrieved July 31, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay shijiazhuang" . Archived from the original on August 1, 2008. Retrieved July 31, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay qinhuangdao" . Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved July 31, 2008 .
^ torchrelay tangshan Archived September 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
^ "torchrelay tianjin" . Archived from the original on August 10, 2008. Retrieved August 12, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay guang'an" . Archived from the original on August 9, 2008. Retrieved August 12, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay leshan" . Archived from the original on August 9, 2008. Retrieved August 12, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay chengdu" . Archived from the original on August 12, 2008. Retrieved August 12, 2008 .
^ "torchrelay beijing photo Aug 6" . Archived from the original on August 12, 2008. Retrieved August 12, 2008 .
^ CCTV.com international 2008
^ SCMP. "South China Morning Post Archived February 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine ." Article. Retrieved on August 11, 2008.
^ a b English.gov.cn. "The English.gov.cn Archived May 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine ." Olympic flame parades on Great Wall in 2nd day relay in Beijing. Retrieved on August 11, 2008.
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^ Xinhuanet. "Xinhuanet ." Ex-gymnast Li Ning to light cauldron for Beijing Olympics. Retrieved on August 11, 2008.
Olympic and Paralympic torch relays
Olympic
Paralympic