Beijing Olympics organizers have announced an ambitious torch relay plan for the 2008 Games which will see the sacred flame reach the world’s highest peak and travel through 135 cities around the world. The design of the torch was also unveiled at a one-hour ceremony in the Millennium Monument in downtown Beijing on the night of April 26.

According to the planned route, which was unveiled by Luo Gan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and IOC President Jacques Rogge, the relay will cover 137,000 km in 130 days before the flame finally arrives at the National Stadium in Beijing on August 8, 2008, involving a total of 21,780 torchbearers.

“The Beijing Olympic torch relay, which will travel the longest route and involve the most people in Olympic history, will display China’s beautiful scenery and rich culture to the world, as well as spreading the ideas of peace, friendship and harmony, “ said Jiang Xiaoyu, Executive Vice President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Games (BOCOG).

The design of the torch, selected from 388 bids, is believed to represent the highest aesthetic and technical level in China.

Resembling an ancient scroll and featuring a “lucky cloud,” the red and silver torch put to rest a debate over whether to use Chinese traditional or modern elements, by incorporating both.

Lucky clouds, or auspicious clouds, are common in Chinese mythology, often ridden by deities. Chinese people expect auspicious clouds to bring blessings and harmony.

“The Beijing Olympic torch boasts distinctive Chinese cultural features, technical excellence and sophisticated materials. It will carry the friendship that Chinese people extend to the world and the Olympic spirit to five continents and to the summit of Mount Everest,” said Liu Qi, President of BOCOG.

The aluminum-made torch, created by the designers at Chinese PC giant Lenovo, is 72 cm tall and weighs 985 gm.

Scheduled to be carried to Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, the torch will have to withstand extremely low pressure, low temperature and strong wind.

Jiang Xiaoyu said that the torch can withstand winds of up to 65 km per hour and stay lit in rain, hail or snow. The light yellow flame can burn for over 15 minutes and will be fueled by propane, a relatively clean energy source.

The relay, dubbed the “Journey of Harmony,” is planned to begin on March 25, 2008, with the lighting of the flame at Olympia, followed by a one-week journey to Athens, where the Greek Olympic Committee will pass the torch to a representative of China on March 30.

A grand launching ceremony for the torch relay will be held in Beijing the following day to mark the start, with the flame heading for its first stop Almaty, Kazakhstan, on April 1.

“By crossing the five continents and going to new places, the Beijing 2008 torch relay will, as its theme says, be a journey of harmony, friendship and respect to people of different nationalities, races and creeds,” said Rogge.

With about one year to go before the torch relay kicks off, Jiang said that the route is subject to changes due to “unforeseeable incidents.”

The torch relay will be highlighted by an attempt to bring the Olympic Flame to Mount Everest.

Experienced mountaineers will be selected to carry the torch to the summit next May depending on the weather, said Jiang.

“The mountaineers will conduct a trial run of the ascent next month. China Central Television (CCTV) will air the event,” he said.

Jiang also said that carrying the Olympic flame to Mount Qomolangma will not damage the environment there.

Taiwan Rejects Torch Relay Plans

On April 27, BOCOG called a news conference where BOCOG Executive Vice President and Spokesperson Jiang Xiaoyu gave a statement regarding the Olympic torch passing through Taipei. BOCOG believes that the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee and Taiwan authorities have violated the Olympic Charter and the IOC’s principle of separating sports from politics by rejecting the torch relay route.

He said he was surprised that the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee could not accept the planned route of the 2008 Beijing Olympics torch relay. Jiang quoted a letter from Tsai Chen-wei, Chairman of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, to BOCOG on December 28, 2006. It read, “On behalf of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, I would like to confirm that the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee is willing to participate in the Beijing Olympic Games torch relay and looking forward to close cooperation with BOCOG in the future to fulfill the sacred task of passing the Olympic flame in accordance with the Olympic spirit and Olympic principles.”

In February this year, a four-member delegation including Tsai met with BOCOG in Beijing and reached four points of consensus on the Beijing Olympic Games torch relay passing through Taipei in accordance with the regulations of the International Olympic Committee.

On March 27, 2007, Tsai sent another letter to BOCOG to confirm the following arrangements: the Taipei leg of the Beijing Games torch relay will take place on April 30, 2008; the Olympic flame will fly from Ho Chi Minh City to Taipei and leave for Hong Kong on May 1 after the relay ends in Taipei.

The picture had stayed rosy until the arrival of another letter from Tsai on April 20, saying, “The status of Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee would be degraded if the Olympic flame travels to Hong Kong via Taipei, so my authorities request that the relay enter and exit Taipei through third-party countries.”

Source: Xinhua