http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/gallery/2010torch/canadamap.jpg
2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Torch Relay route announced

Gary Kingston, Vancouver Sun
Published: Thursday, November 20, 2008

The torch relay for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games was always going to end in British Columbia, inside B.C. Place Stadium.

But the iconic flame's 106-day cross-country journey will also begin in the province before criss-crossing the nation on its way through every province and territory.

The 2010 Olympic organizing committee (Vanoc) announced today at a splashy ceremony in West Vancouver that the torch relay will start in Victoria on Oct. 30, 2009.

After four days on Vancouver Island, it will be taken to the Queen Charlotte Islands and Atlin in northern B.C. before heading into the Yukon and Northwest Territories. In early November, it will land in North America's easternmost tip, historic Cape Spear in St. John's, Newfoundland, before embarking on a cross-Canada journey that will put it back in B.C. on Jan. 21, 2010.

"The Olympic torch relay is a tremendous opportunity to unite the country and make the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games Canada's Games," said Gary Lunn, the federal minister of state for sport. "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring together millions of Canadians, in every province and territory, as we celebrate and welcome the passing of the Olympic Flame.

"As it makes its way across Canada, it will touch the soul of this great nation and inspire the world."

The relay will spend a total of 27 days in B.C. and visit 266 communities or places of interest. The torch itself will be carried by 3,500 torchbearers.

Canadians interested in carrying the torch can apply at iCoke.ca or at three different RBC web sites, including http://www.carrythetorch.com/. Coca-Cola and RBC are the relay's presenting sponsors.

A Vanoc release said the route through B.C., which includes visits to the 1,770-metre high Kootenay Pass and the site of Canadian Pacific Railway's Last Spike at Craigellachie in 1885, will put it within a one-hour drive of 92 per cent of the province's population.

The torch will cover 9,750 kilometres by land, water and air.

Overall, the torch relay route will be the longest domestic torch relay in Olympic history, stretching 45,000 kilometres within Canada.

"When designing this route, we wanted to include as many Canadians as possible," said Vanoc chief executive officer John Furlong. "It is our hope and our dream to unite this country and bring Canadians closer together to discover the many cultures and perspectives that make up our nation.

"We will share the Olympic Flame with young and old, northern and southern, eastern and western - and everyone in between - in order to make these truly Canada's Games."

Awesome. Looks like it's even going to hit the forgotten city of Canada! (Windsor).

Looks great.

It's going to Alert, that is going to be a cold run.

http://media.hamiltonspectator.topscms.com/images/33/4b/537d4a7c44db8afd8472fd03c6b6.gif

They forgot Atikokan and Fort Frances! :(

A NORTHERN PERSPECTIVE:

At least, they'll fly over the United States via Alaska. (It'll fly over near its capital, Juneau).

- I thought Beaver Creek, YT or Mount Logan will be included. Because Beaver Creek is Canada's westernmost comunity, while Mount Logan is Canada's highest point of land... anyway... because maybe it's too cold... lol

- I also thought that a trip down the Mackenzie River, then Yellowknife, then fly north to Kugluktuk, and then, south to Alberta... will be good, too because it visits more communities than flying to Kugluktuk directly, but it's ok. They wanna reach the Arctic Coast that badly. lol

- From Chrchill to Alert? Express?... at least they would've given Rankin Inlet or Arviat a chance by dog sled before flying north.
- There are a lot of communities in Nunavut along the Hudson Bay and the Boothia Peninsula. lol.
- Grise Fiord? (plane will fly directly over it) Canada's northernmost community? Where is it? Alert's just a military base, but a good decision.
North pole?
- According to the map, they just flown over Pond Inlet... A considerably big population there being north of 72 parallel.
- Arctic Bay / Nanisivik? Canada's new naval port? Well... I know why... to prevent political clashes. lol
- Igloolik, NU (Canada's Arctic research centre), Hay River, NT (they just flown over it) and more... but they need to rush anyway... so I like their layout.
- I love them that they chose Kuujjuaq to represent the Ungava region of Quebec. At least they have representation... even though I liked Ivujivik more. But I would also like to increase the representation of Ungava by adding some more communities (Salluit, etc.). lol.
- I thought that it will be path of "Northern Lights", where around at least 10% of the trip is at north... but... anyway... lol.
- Tuktoyaktuk? It's just near Inuvik, anyway... can be reached by dog sled.

- Good choice of Victoria as starting point. Because the path looks like a race track. I like their layout overall, despite some lacking representation of the North.

Good choices for some communities:
- Churchill, MB - Canada's own Arctic port
- Inuvik, NT - Canada's energy hub up north
- Yellowknife, NT - Bling bling capital
- Fort McMurray, AB - oil sands centre, boomtown
- Grande Prairie, AB - boomtown
- Resolute, NU - Canada's military training centre
- Iqaluit, NU - Arctic capital / boomtown

They have a good choice in selecting communities to be part of the torch relay.

- Vald'Or, QC will celebrate the New Year with the torch. Lucky for them!
- London, ON will celebrate Christmas day and Boxing Day with the torch.
- Labrador City, NL and Happy Valley - Goose Bay, NL will remember the veterans with the torch.
- Nanaimo, BC will go trick-or-treating with the torch.
- Port Alberni, BC will go back to standard time with the torch.

It's going to Alert, that is going to be a cold run.

Not really. They'll fly anyway, right...

They should bring it to every furthest Canadian landmass, as in most Western part, Southern, etc...

If that were the case it would go through Point Pelee national park which is 35 min. from where I live. I don't know how close the torch will get to my house though... probably the downtown area.

Vancouver 2010 Torch Relay video, featuring "Fix You" by Coldplay:

http://www.vancouver2010.com/en/torch-relays/multimedia-gallery/-/58062/hrezg9/index.html

Time to move this over to the Olympics forum!

These RBC 2010 torchbearer commercials have been running all the time lately:

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The official Vancouver 2010 Torch Relay promo by VANOC, with music by Coldplay ("Fix You"):
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http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/www.vancouversun.com/teen+first+carry+olympic+torch+2010/1194154/1194490.bin

B.C. teen first to carry Olympic torch in 2010


By Jordana Huber, Canwest News Service

TORONTO - A British Columbia teenager has been selected as the first torchbearer for the 2010 Winter Olympics, Coca-Cola announced Monday.

Patricia Moreno, 18, of Vancouver will be the first of some 3,500 torchbearers to carry the flame along the 45,000-kilometre route, which begins in Victoria on Oct. 30.

The Britannia High School student, whose favourite school subject is physical education, is on the swim team and is planning to work as a lifeguard.

Moreno is also a member of her high school leadership program and after school wants to attend university to study kinetics and nutrition.

During the 106-day journey, the iconic torch for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games will travel to more than 1,000 communities, even reaching the very tip of Canada’s Far North - less than 900 kilometres from the North Pole.

After it is formally lit in Olympia, Greece, the flame is brought to Canada, sparking the relay in Victoria on Oct. 30, 2009. After four days on Vancouver Island, the torch will be taken to the Queen Charlotte Islands and Atlin in northern B.C. before heading into the Yukon and Northwest Territories.

In early November, it will land in North America’s easternmost tip, historic Cape Spear in St. John’s, N.L., before embarking on a cross-Canada journey that will put it back in B.C. on Jan. 21, 2010.

The torch will visit 266 communities in B.C., 73 in Alberta, and 39 in Saskatchewan. In Nunavut, the torch flies into the country’s newest and largest territory on Nov. 5, 2009 and will wend its way through four communities, three of them aboriginal.

The Olympic flame will arrive in Manitoba on Nov. 7, 2009 in the northern city of Thompson and visit 33 communities. Through Ontario, the torch will brighten 226 places.

In Eastern Canada, the torchbearers will run through 54 communities in Nova Scotia, including Windsor, which has long laid claim to being “the birthplace of hockey.” Fifty-eight towns and cities in New Brunswick will see the flame, 41 in Newfoundland and Labrador and 26 in Prince Edward Island.

im gonna check this out in 2010 olympics, this will be a big oppornutity:banana:
for her





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Busby SEO Test (http://pinayspeak.com/pinaytest/)

@ Ottawa
Everyone was very excited there. Beautiful celebration.

Via Vancouver 2010 (http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-photos/vancouver-2010-olympic-torch-relay---day-44---from-gatineau--qc-to-ottawa--on_191998g82644-Uy.html#photoScrollHref)

I guess the Olympic hype is in full swing. In what is estimated to be the largest crowd so far for the torch relay, 15,000 people packed Hillside Stadium in Kamloops, BC to watch Senator (and Olympic gold medalist) Nancy Greene pass off the flame to NHLer Mark Recchi, who completed this leg of the journey. Crazy cold but definitely a spectacle.

I thought it was amazing seeing the amount of people in the news there. Good for Kamloops =)

Anyone planning to watch the ones in Vancouver?

LYsKMzu3GwQ

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/mm/photo/sports/ctvo/03/94/19/39419_m15.jpg

Protest reroutes torch relay
The Globe and Mail
By Robert Matas, The Globe and Mail Posted Friday, February 12, 2010 2:00 PM ET

The Torch relay headed into the eye of the storm of protest Friday, moving into Vancouver's so-called left-bank neighborhood of Commercial Drive.

The route was blocked by barb wire strung across the road, a band of 10 musicians and hundreds of protesters - many dressed in black with scraves covering their mouths - in a crowd of local residents.

'Homes, Not Games,' they shouted.

The torch relay deftly avoided a confrontation, changing the route.

As the torch continued a few blocks away, the crowd moved to another intersection several blocks south, where they were greeted by eight police on horses and several foot police on foot and on bikes.

The human and horse blockade effectively stopped the protest on the street.

"What do we do now?," one protester said.

Some young girls who came out to celebrate the torch asked if they could pat the horses.

As the torch moved on, the protest turned into a street festival, with the crowd milling about, waving placards and chanting.

The street corners turned into a debating forum as residents who came out to cheer the torch argued with protesters.

Tosha Thomas, who came out to cheer with her 18-month-old daughter Zoe, was disappointed she did not see the torch.

"I thought they would do their thing and that would be that," said Ms. Thomas who lives in the neighbourhood.

"They ruined it for those who came out."

(CTV (http://www.ctvolympics.ca/news-centre/newsid=39429.html#protest+reroutes+torch+relay), 2010)