2008 Summer Olympics torch relay: Difference between revisions

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===Paris===
===Paris===
[[Image:ParisOlympicBanner.jpg|thumb|200px|Protest banner on Hôtel de Ville]]
[[Image:ParisOlympicBanner.jpg|thumb|200px|Protest banner on Hôtel de Ville]]
[[Paris]] city officials have announced plans to greet the Olympic flame with peaceful protest when the torch reaches the French capital. A banner reading "Paris defends human rights throughout the world" was attached to [[Hôtel de Ville, Paris|City Hall, Paris]], in an attempt to promote values "of all humanity and of human rights,".<ref>http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20080402-127972/Paris-to-greet-Olympic-flame-with-protest--mayor</ref> Members from [[Reporters Without Borders]] are expected to turn out in large numbers to protest.<ref>http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/02/sports/EU-SPT-OLY-Olympic-Torch-Paris.php</ref>An estimated 3,000 French police are expected to protect the Olympic torch relay as it departs from the [[Eiffel Tower]] and crisscrosses Paris amid threat of protests.<ref>http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/04/06/london.torch/index.html</ref>
[[Paris]] city officials have announced plans to greet the Olympic flame with peaceful protest when the torch reaches the French capital. A banner reading "Paris defends human rights throughout the world" was attached to [[Hôtel de Ville, Paris|City Hall, Paris]], in an attempt to promote values "of all humanity and of human rights,".<ref>http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20080402-127972/Paris-to-greet-Olympic-flame-with-protest--mayor</ref> Members from [[Reporters Without Borders]] are expected to turn out in large numbers to protest.<ref>http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/02/sports/EU-SPT-OLY-Olympic-Torch-Paris.php</ref>An estimated 3,000 French police are protected the Olympic torch relay as it departed from the [[Eiffel Tower]] and crisscrosses Paris amid threat of protests.<ref>http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/04/06/london.torch/index.html</ref> Widespread anti-chinese and free-tibet protest prompted relay authorities to put out the flame and load the torch onto a bus in Paris twice. The procession was interrupted for a third time when police spotted a crowd of demonstrators waiting for the torch on a bridge as they approached. Backup flames, also lit from the birthplace of the ancient games in Olympia, Greece, are with the relay at all times to relight the torch.<ref>http://us.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/04/07/oly.torchrelay/index.html</ref>


===San Francisco===
===San Francisco===

Revision as of 15:13, 7 April 2008

Cordoned by police officers and members of the torch's security team, the Olympic Torch passes along Whitehall in London. The torch bearer is retired English athlete Steve Cram.

The 2008 Olympic Torch Relay is planned to take place until August 8, 2008, prior to the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Plans for the relay were announced on April 26, 2007, in Beijing, China.[1] The relay, with the theme "Journey of Harmony", will last 130 days and carry the torch 137,000 km (85,100 mi.) - the longest distance of any Olympic torch relay (though most of it is by air). After being lit in Olympia, Greece, the torch will travel to the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, and then to Beijing, arriving on March 31. From Beijing, the torch will follow a route passing through six continents. The torch will visit cities on the Silk Road, symbolizing ancient links between China and the rest of the world. The relay will also include an attempt to carry the flame to the top of Mount Everest (Mt. Qomolangma).[2]

International route

On March 24, 2008, the Olympic Flame was ignited at Olympia, Greece, site of the Ancient Olympics. The actress Maria Nafpliotou, in the role of a High Priestess, ignited the torch of the first torchbearer, a silver medalist of the 2004 Summer Olympics in taekwondo Alexandros Nikolaidis from Greece, who handed the flame over to the second torchbearer, Olympic champion in women's breaststroke Luo Xuejuan from China.[3]

In China, the torch was welcomed by Chinese leader Zhou Yongkang and State Councilor Liu Yandong. It was subsequently passed onto Hu Jintao, the President, and then onto Liu Xiang, world champion Olympian in 110m hurdles.

The announced route will carry the torch through the following locations, from March 2008 to May 2008, before the final stages in mainland China:

2008 Olympic Torch Relay. The original Taiwan route shown in red.
Date City Country
March 25 Olympia  Greece
March 30 Athens
March 31 Beijing  China
April 2 Almaty Template:KZK
April 3 Istanbul  Turkey
April 5 St.Petersburg  Russia
April 6 London  United Kingdom
April 7 Paris  France
April 9 San Francisco  United States
April 11 Buenos Aires  Argentina
April 13 Dar es Salaam  Tanzania
April 14 Muscat  Oman
April 16 Islamabad  Pakistan
April 17 Mumbai  India
April 19 Bangkok  Thailand
April 21 Kuala Lumpur  Malaysia
April 22 Jakarta  Indonesia
April 24 Canberra  Australia
April 26 Nagano  Japan
April 27 Seoul  South Korea
April 28 Pyongyang  North Korea
April 29 Ho Chi Minh City  Vietnam
May 2 Hong Kong  China
May 3 Macau

The planned route originally included a stop in Taipei between Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Kong, but there was scuffling 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 mainland China and Taiwan 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 Organising Committee attempted to continue negotiation,[4] but further disputes arose over the placement and usage of the flag or the anthem of the Republic of China along the 24-km torch route in Taiwan.[5] As of 2007-09-21, after the midnight deadline for concluding the negotiations on September 20, Taiwan and Mainland China were unable to come to terms with the issue of the Torch Relay. Conclusively, both sides of the Taiwan Strait decided that the Taipei leg is to be removed.[6]

Mainland China route

2008 Torch Relay mainland China route.
2008 Olympic Torch on display in Vilnius, February 16, 2008.

After returning to mainland China, the relay will travel through the following provinces and cities, from May 2008 to August 2008:

  1. Hainan Province (Sanya, Wuzhishan, Wanning, Haikou)
  2. Guangdong Province (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Huizhou, Shantou)
  3. Fujian Province (Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Xiamen, Longyan)
  4. Jiangxi Province (Ruijin, Jinggangshan, Nanchang)
  5. Zhejiang Province (Wenzhou Ningbo, Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Jiaxing)
  6. Shanghai
  7. Jiangsu Province (Suzhou, Nantong, Taizhou, Yangzhou, Nanjing)
  8. Anhui Province (Hefei, Huainan, Wuhu, Jixi, Huangshan)
  9. Hubei Province (Wuhan, Yichang, Jingzhou)
  10. Hunan Province (Yueyang, Changsha, Shaoshan)
  11. Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Guilin, Nanning, Baise)
  12. Yunnan Province (Kunming, Lijiang, Xamgyi'nyilha)
  13. Guizhou Province (Guiyang, Kaili, Zunyi)
  14. Chongqing
  15. Sichuan Province (Guang'an, Mianyang, Guanghan, Leshan, Zigong, Yibin, Chengdu)
  16. Tibet Autonomous Region (Shannan Diqu, Lhasa)
  17. Qinghai Province (Golmud, Qinghai Hu, Xining)
  18. Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Ürümqi, Kashi, Shihezi, Changji)
  19. Gansu Province (Dunhuang, Jiayuguan, Jiuquan, Tianshui, Lanzhou)
  20. Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (Zhongwei, Wuzhong, Yinchuan)
  21. Shaanxi Province (Yan'an, Yangling, Xianyang, Xi'an)
  22. Shanxi Province (Yuncheng, Pingyao, Taiyuan, Datong)
  23. Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Hohhot, Ordos, Baotou, Chifeng)
  24. Heilongjiang Province (Qiqihar, Daqing, Harbin)
  25. Jilin Province (Songyuan, Changchun, Jilin, Yanji)
  26. Liaoning Province (Shenyang, Benxi, Liaoyang, Anshan, Dalian)
  27. Shandong Province (Yantai, Weihai, Qingdao, Rizhao, Linyi, Qufu, Tai'an, Jinan)
  28. Henan Province (Shangqiu, Kaifeng, Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Anyang)
  29. Hebei Province (Shijiazhuang, Qinhuangdao, Tangshan)
  30. Tianjin
  31. Beijing

The Torch

The Olympic Torch is based on traditional scrolls and uses a traditional Chinese design known as "Lucky Cloud". The torch is designed to remain lit in 65 kilometer-an-hour winds, and in rain of up to 50 millimeters-an-hour. It is designed by a team from Lenovo Group.

The Torch is designed in reference to the traditional Chinese concept of the 5 elements that make up the entire universe.

Protests

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Inception

Following the recent unrest in Tibet, three sympathisers of the Tibetan independence movement breached security and attempted to disrupt a speech by Liu Qi, the head of Beijing's Olympic organising committee during the torch lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece.[7][8][9] The People's Republic of China called this a "disgraceful" attempt to sabotage the Olympics.[10][11] On 30 March, 2008 in Athens, during ceremonies marking the handing over of the torch from Greek officials to organizers of the Beijing games, demonstrators shouted 'Free Tibet' and unfurled banners; some 10 of the 15 protesters were taken into police detention.[12] After the hand-off, protests continued internationally, with particularly violent uprisings in Nepal.[13]

London

Of the 80 torch-bearers[14] in London, Sir Steve Redgrave, who started the relay, mentioned to the media that he had received e-mailed pleas to boycott the event and "can see why they would like to make an issue" of it.[14] Francesca Martinez and Richard Vaughan refused to carry the torch,[15] while Konnie Huq decided to both do so and speak out against China.[16] The pro-Tibetian MP Norman Baker asked all bearers to reconsider.[15] Amid pressure from both directions, Prime Minister Gordon Brown welcomed the torch outside 10 Downing Street. However the Prime Minister never held the torch, nor did he touch it.[17][18]

The London relay saw the torch surrounded by what the BBC described as "a mobile protective ring."[17] Protests began as soon as Redgrave started the event, leading to at least thirty-five arrests.[17] In Ladbroke Grove a demonstrator attempted to snatch the torch from Konnie Huq in a momentary struggle, and in a separate incident, a fire extinguisher was set off near the torch.[17] The Chinese ambassador carried the torch through Chinatown after an unpublicized change to the route amid security concerns.[17]

Paris

File:ParisOlympicBanner.jpg
Protest banner on Hôtel de Ville

Paris city officials have announced plans to greet the Olympic flame with peaceful protest when the torch reaches the French capital. A banner reading "Paris defends human rights throughout the world" was attached to City Hall, Paris, in an attempt to promote values "of all humanity and of human rights,".[19] Members from Reporters Without Borders are expected to turn out in large numbers to protest.[20]An estimated 3,000 French police are protected the Olympic torch relay as it departed from the Eiffel Tower and crisscrosses Paris amid threat of protests.[21] Widespread anti-chinese and free-tibet protest prompted relay authorities to put out the flame and load the torch onto a bus in Paris twice. The procession was interrupted for a third time when police spotted a crowd of demonstrators waiting for the torch on a bridge as they approached. Backup flames, also lit from the birthplace of the ancient games in Olympia, Greece, are with the relay at all times to relight the torch.[22]

San Francisco

On April 1, 2008, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a resolution addressing human rights concerns when the Beijing Olympic torch arrives in San Francisco on 9 April. The resolution would welcome the torch with "alarm and protest at the failure of China to meet its past solemn promises to the international community, including the citizens of San Francisco, to cease the egregious and ongoing human rights abuses in China and occupied Tibet."[23][24] A third of the population of San Francisco is Chinese American and many overseas Chinese, including advocates for Tibet, Darfur and the religious sect Falun Gong, plan to protest the April 9 arrival of the torch in San Francisco.[25] China has already requested the torch route in San Francisco be shortened.[26]

Mumbai

Indian national football captain, Baichung Bhutia refused to take part in the Indian leg of the torch relay[27]. This came in wake of the storming of the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi by Tibetan protesters. Wary of further protests, the Indian authorities have decided to shorten the route of the relay in New Delhi.[28]. Indian Bollywood film star Aamir Khan states on his personal blog that the "Olympic Games do not belong to China" and confirms taking part in the torch relay "with a prayer in [his] heart for the people of Tibet, and [...] for all people across the world who are victims of human rights violations".[29]

Canberra

Following the events in Olympia, there were reports that China requested permission to deploy People's Liberation Army personnel along the relay route to protect the flame. Australian authorities stated that such a request, if it were to be made, would be refused.[30][31] Chinese officials labeled it a "rumor".[32]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay.
  1. ^ "Beijing 2008: BOCOG Announces Olympic Torch Relay Route". International Olympic Committee. 2007-04-26. Retrieved 2007-04-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay Planned Route and Torch Design unveiled". BOCOG. 2007-04-26. Retrieved 2007-04-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Olympic Flame begins relay in Greece at the Official Website of the Torch Relay
  4. ^ "Taiwan rejects China's torch relay plans". USA Today. 2007-04-26. Retrieved 2007-04-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Taipei Times
  6. ^ VoA News
  7. ^ Olympic flame begins journey to China
  8. ^ Demonstrators disrupt Olympic torch lighting
  9. ^ "Protests disrupt Olympic torch ceremony".
  10. ^ Torch protest 'disgraceful', says China
  11. ^ China raps Olympic torch protest
  12. ^ Tibet Protesters Try to Disrupt Olympic Ceremony
  13. ^ Violence in Nepal as Tibetans protest Olympics
  14. ^ a b "Redgrave receives pleas on Tibet". BBC News. 2008-04-03. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  15. ^ a b Horne, Mark. "Logan vows to run Olympic gauntlet". news.scotsman.com. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  16. ^ Kelly, Jon (2008-04-03). "Burning debate over relay boycott". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  17. ^ a b c d e "Clashes mar Olympic torch relay". BBC News. 2008-04-06. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  18. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7333300.stm
  19. ^ http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20080402-127972/Paris-to-greet-Olympic-flame-with-protest--mayor
  20. ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/02/sports/EU-SPT-OLY-Olympic-Torch-Paris.php
  21. ^ http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/04/06/london.torch/index.html
  22. ^ http://us.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/04/07/oly.torchrelay/index.html
  23. ^ SF To Greet Olympic Torch With 'Alarm And Protest'
  24. ^ Video:SF To Greet Olympic Torch With 'Alarm'
  25. ^ Bay City to protest Olympic torch
  26. ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/China_wants_San_Francisco_Olympic_torchs_route_shortened/articleshow/2903371.cms China wants San Francisco Olympic torch's route shortened]
  27. ^ http://www.chinapost.com.tw/asia/india/2008/04/01/149897/India's-soccer.htm
  28. ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Wary_of_protests_IOA_shortens_Olympic_torch_route/articleshow/2920822.cms
  29. ^ http://www.aamirkhan.com/blog.htm
  30. ^ China wants army to oversee torch relay in Australia
  31. ^ Chinese army won't be monitoring Aust Olympic torch leg: officials
  32. ^ [1]

External links

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