The torch relay of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will take the theme of "harmonious journey" and the slogan of "ignite passion and pass on dreams", spanning five continents and lasting 130 days, with more than 20,000 torchbearers and 5,000 runners participating. This will be the longest torch relay with the largest number of participants in Olympic history.
Jiang Xiaoyu said that at present, preparations for the torch relay organizing committees in various relay cities at home and abroad have been basically completed, and the torch relay horn is about to blow. According to the master plan of the torch relay of Beijing Olympic Games, the torch lighting ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games was held in Olympia, Greece on March 24th, 2008, followed by a six-day relay in Greece. On March 30th, the torch handover ceremony was held in Athens. On March 3 1, the flame arrived in Beijing, where a grand welcoming ceremony will be held to welcome the flame into China and the official launching ceremony of the torch relay for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will be held.
From April/KLOC-0 to May 3, 2008, it was delivered to foreign 2 1 cities. BOCOG Torch Relay Operation Team will take the flame and take a charter flight from China International Airlines to five continents 19 countries and 19 cities in Hong Kong and Macao. The cumulative journey was 97,000 kilometers, with more than 2,000 torchbearers and 42 ceremonies, which lasted for 33 days.
The Olympic flame will arrive in Sanya, Hainan Province on May 3, 2008 after being passed overseas. Starting from May 4th, BOCOG Torch Relay Operation Team will deliver the Olympic flame to 3 1 kloc-0/3 cities and regions in China by air, rail and highway. The flame will return to Beijing on August 6, 2008 for a three-day relay. On the evening of August 8, the Olympic flame will arrive at the main venue of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, ignite the main torch tower of the Olympic Games, and continue to burn until the closing of the Olympic Games. The torch relay in China has a cumulative distance of over 40,000 kilometers, which lasted for 97 days, with more than 65,438 torchbearers.
Jiang Xiaoyu said that at present, the relay route has been compiled. According to the relay plan, in principle, there will be 80 torchbearers in overseas relay every day, each running about 250 meters, and the relay mileage is about 20 kilometers every day. It runs for about 6 hours, including the launching ceremony and the celebration after the relay race. Among them, Hong Kong and Macao torchbearers 120, and the relay time is correspondingly extended. During the domestic relay, in principle, there will be 208 torchbearers every day, each carrying 200 meters, with a daily relay mileage of 40-50 kilometers and running 10 to 12 hours. In China, 3 1 province (autonomous region and municipality directly under the central government) transits by air, railway and highway. The highlights of many relay cities are compiled in the relay route.
Jiang Xiaoyu revealed that there will be many highlights in the torch relay in overseas cities on 2 1, and the flame will reach many world-famous attractions, such as the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, the British Museum in London, the Eiffel Tower in France, the Red Fort in New Delhi, the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Rensi Cave in Seoul and Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong. The domestic relay route is equally wonderful, from the southernmost tip of China-the ends of the earth in Sanya, Hainan, to the northern frontier, from the Pamirs on the western border to the coast of the East China Sea. Wherever the flame goes, it brings the concept of "green Olympics, high-tech Olympics and people's Olympics" of the Beijing Olympic Games to all parts of the country.
When introducing the selection of torchbearers, Jiang Xiaoyu revealed that with the efforts of Olympic Committees or relay cities of various countries (regions), the selection of overseas torchbearers is progressing smoothly. 16 countries (regions) have completed the selection and submitted the list, and the remaining five countries are submitting the list one after another. In China, 3 1 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government elected 1 1534 torchbearers. Three global partners, Coca-Cola, Samsung and Lenovo, carried out torchbearer selection activities by combining open selection and internal recommendation respectively, and selected 422/kloc-0 torchbearers who embodied the Olympic spirit and built a harmonious society with practical actions. In addition, the selection of torchbearers for the International Olympic Committee, the Chinese Olympic Committee and the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee is progressing smoothly.
Qu Yingpu, spokesman of BOCOG Torch Relay Center, said that BOCOG will provide official signals to the global media. The specific arrangement is: each relay day will provide about 15 minutes of official TV signal highlights and Chinese and English lens tables, which will be distributed through the global satellite network, and all media can receive them free of charge. In addition, the official signal will be sent again through APTN's GVW network. In addition, the official website of the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay will set up a special webpage to publish daily route arrangement, news release, audio and photo materials, TV reception information, etc. For media reference.
It is understood that the BOCOG Torch Relay Center started the registration of overseas media coverage of the domestic relay on June 5438+10/October 1 this year. By the end of June, 5438+1October 3 1, * * nearly 700 overseas media had applied for interviews. Qu Yingpu said that during the torch relay of the Beijing Olympic Games, BOCOG will provide quality services for domestic and foreign media.
When answering a reporter's question about the torch relay in Tibet, Jiang Xiaoyu said that the organizing committee of the torch relay in Tibet has done a lot of fruitful preparations and is progressing smoothly. We believe that the Xizang Autonomous Region government has the ability to maintain the stability of Tibet and Lhasa, and also has the ability to ensure the smooth progress of the torch relay. The torch relay of Beijing Olympic Games will be carried out as planned.
When a reporter asked about the so-called protests or other interference and sabotage activities claimed by individual organizations or individuals during the overseas torch relay, Jiang Xiaoyu once again reiterated that these actions were totally inconsistent with the purpose of the Olympic Charter, the Olympic spirit and the concept of "harmonious journey" of the torch relay of the 29th Olympic Games. These so-called interference protests are actually a challenge to the Olympic Charter and to all those who love the Olympic Movement. Such an activity is unpopular and doomed to failure.