Photos

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Almaty | Istanbul | St. Petersburg | London | Paris | San Francisco | Buenos Aires | Dar es Salaam | Muscat | Islamabad | New Delhi | Bangkok | Kuala Lumpur | Jakarta | Canberra | Nagano | Seoul | Pyongyang | Ho Chi Minh City | Taipei | Hong Kong | Macau

1st leg of the Torch Relay- Almaty, Kazakhstan. 2 April 2008

The first torchbearer in Almaty, where the Olympic torch arrived for the first time ever, was the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbaev. The route ran 20 km from Medeo stadium to Astana Square. Among other 79 torchbearers were Olympic champions Bakhtiyar Artayev, Yermakhan Ibraimov (boxing), Yuriy Melnichenko, Zaksylik Ushkempirov (wrestling), Anatoly Khrapaty (weightlifting); the first Olympic champion for independent Kazakhstan Vladimir Smirnov (cross-country skiing) skied his lap on a special artificial snow track; famous Kazakh singer Roza Rymbaeva ran her lap singing a song about Kazakhstan.

2nd leg of the Torch Relay- Istanbul, Turkey. 3 April 2008

The torch relay leg in Istanbul, held on 3 April, started on Sultanahmet Square and finished in Taksim Square. On the 20 km long route the Olympic flame was carried by 80 torchbearers, the first being a figure skater Tuğba Karademir and the last — the Olympic champion in weightlifting Taner Sağır.

3rd leg of the Torch Relay- St. Petersburg, Russia. 5 April 2008

On 5 April the Olympic torch arrived at St. Petersburg, Russia. The length of the torch relay route in the city was 20 km, with the start at the Victory Square and finish at the Palace Square. Among the 80 torchbearers were Olympic champions Lyubov Yegorova (cross-country skiing), Viktor Zhdanovich (fencing), Vladimir Salnikov, Alexander Popov, Sergey Kopliakov, Andrey Krylov (swimming), Alexander Dityatin (artistic gymnastics), Tatyana Kazankina (athletics), Anatoly Alyabyev (biathlon), Evgeni Plushenko, Tatiana Totmianina, Maxim Marinin, Anton Sikharulidze, Alexei Urmanov, Oksana Kazakova, Artur Dmitriev, Oleg Vasiliev (figure skating), Svetlana Zhurova (speed skating), and others; figure skating coach Tamara Moskvina; mixed martial artist Fedor Emelianenko; polar explorers Robert Swan, Artur Chilingarov; cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova; actress Alisa Freindlich; football player Andrei Arshavin and other prominent people.

4th leg of the Torch Relay- London, England. 6 April 2008

The torch relay leg held in London on 6 April began in Wembley, passed through the City of London, and eventually ended at the O2 in the eastern part of the city. Torchbearers included Kelly Holmes, Sir Trevor McDonald, Vanessa Mae, Kevin Pieterson and Amara Karan. The 48 km (31 mi) leg took a total of seven and a half hours to complete, and attracted protests by pro-Tibet and pro-Human Rights supporters, prompting changes to the planned route and an unscheduled move onto a bus.

5th leg of the Torch Relay- Paris, France. 7 April 2008

The torch relay leg in Paris began on the first level of the Eiffel Tower and finished at the Stade Charléty. French athlete Stéphane Diagana was the first torchbearer. Other torchbearers included David Douillet, Marie-José Pérec, Jin Jing, Teddy Riner, Arnaud Di Pasquale, Pi Hongyan and Mary Pierce.
The relay was initially supposed to cover 28 km, but it was shortened at the demand of Chinese officials following widespread protests by pro-Tibet and human rights activists, who repeatedly attempted to disrupt, hinder or halt the procession.
A scheduled ceremony at the town hall was cancelled at the request of the Chinese authorities, and, also at the request of Chinese authorities, the torch finished the relay by bus instead of being carried by athletes.

6th leg of the Torch Relay- SanFrancisco, United States. 9 April 2008

On the day of the relay officials diverted the torch run to an unannounced route. The start was at McCovey Cove, where Norman Bellingham of the U.S. Olympic Committee gave the torch to the first torchbearer, Chinese 1992 Olympic champion swimmer Lin Li. The planned closing ceremony at Justin Herman Plaza was cancelled and instead, a ceremony was held at San Francisco International Airport. The route changes avoided many supporters and protestors, alike. As crowds found out there would be no closing ceremony at Justin Herman Plaza, there were angry reactions. One demonstrator was quoted as saying that the route changes were an effort to "thwart any organized protest that had been planned." San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, a critic of Mayor Gavin Newsom, said that it was a
"cynical plan to please the Bush State Department and the Chinese government because of the incredible influence of money."
Newsom, on the other hand, said he felt it was in "everyone's best interest" and that he believed people had been "afforded the right to protest and support the torch" despite the route changes.
Peter Ueberroth, head of the U.S. Olympic Committee, praised the route changes, saying, "The city of San Francisco, from a global perspective, will be applauded." People who saw the torch were surprised and cheered. The cost to the city for hosting the event was reported to be USD 726,407.75, nearly half of which has been recovered by private fundraising. Mayor Gavin Newsom said that "exponential" costs associated with mass arrests were avoided by his decision to change the route in consultation with police chief Heather Fong.

7th leg of the Torch Relay- Buenos Aires, Argentina. 11 April 2008

The torch relay leg in Buenos Aires began with an artistic show at the Lola Mora amphitheatre in Costanera Sur. In the end of the show the mayor of Buenos Aires Mauricio Macri gave the torch to the first torchbearer, Carlos Espínola. The leg finished at the Buenos Aires Riding Club in the Palermo district, the last torchbearer being Gabriela Sabatini. The 13.8 km route included landmarks like the obelisk and Plaza de Mayo. Among the remaining 78 torchbearers were famous athletes like Georgina Bardach, Paola Suárez and Pablo Chacón.
Soccer star Diego Maradona was among the athletes invited to carry the torch, but he delayed his stay overseas in an apparent attempt to avoid the Olympic controversy. The day was marked by several pro-Tibet protests, which included a giant banner reading "Free Tibet", and an alternative "human rights torch" that was lit by protesters and paraded along the route the flame was to take. Most of these protests were peaceful in nature, and the torch was not impeded. Chinese immigrants also turned out in support of the Games, but only minor scuffles were reported between both groups. Runners surrounded by rows of security carried the Olympic flame past thousands of jubilant Argentines in the most trouble-free torch relay in nearly a week. People showered the parade route with confetti as banks, government offices and businesses took an impromptu half-day holiday for the only Latin American stop on the flame's five-continent journey.

8th leg of the Torch Relay- Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. 13 April 2008

The relay covered 5 km. The torch was lit by Vice-President Ali Mohamed Shein, and torchbearers included John Stephen Akhwari, Dorcus Inzikuru and Anna Tibaijuka. About a thousand people followed the relay, waving the Olympic flag. The only noted instance of protest was Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai's withdrawal from the list of torchbearers, in protest against human rights abuses in Tibet.

9th leg of the Torch Relay- Muscat, Oman. 14 April 2008

The relay covered 20 km. Among the torchbearers was Rahma Marhoon, who will represent Oman at the Beijing Paralympic Games. It was the first time that Oman hosted the Olympic torch relay. No protests or incidents were reported.