2010 Winter Olympics torch relay

Host city	Vancouver, Canada
Countries visited	Greece, Canada, United States; See full route
Torch bearers	12,000 approx.
Start date	October 30, 2009
End date	February 12, 2010
Torch designer	Leo Obstbaum

The 2010 Winter Olympics Torch Relay was a 106-day run, from October 30, 2009 until February 12, 2010, prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics. Plans for the relay were originally announced November 21, 2008 by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). Communities were initially informed in June 2008, but the locations were not announced for "security reasons".[1] Exact routes were later announced several weeks before the start of the torch relay.[1]

The torch passing by Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador on November 13th, 2009.

The flame is passed in Moncton, New Brunswick on November 23, 2009.

A closeup of the 2010 Olympic Torch.

Photo of one of the miniature displays used to show the flame during the community celebrations.

The torches used in the Olympic relay were designed by Leo Obstbaum (1969–2009), the late director of design for the 2010 Winter Games.[2]

There were an estimated 12,000 torchbearers, including notable Canadian celebrities such as Shania Twain, Simon Whitfield, Silken Lauman, Alexandre Despatie, Catriona Le May Doan and John Hayman and past and present NHL hockey stars including Sidney Crosby, Wayne Gretzky, and the captains of the Vancouver Canucks teams that went to the Stanley Cup Finals, Trevor Linden (1994) and Stan Smyl (1982). In fact, many television personalities were selected as torchbearers for the relay, mainly from CTV's parent company, CTVglobemedia. Matt Lauer and American actor, bodybuilder, and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger were also torch bearers.[3]

On 22 October 2009 the Olympic Torch was lit during a ceremony held at the Ancient Olympia in Greece. Actress Maria Nafpliotou played the role of the High Priestess and ignited the flame using a parabolic mirror and the sun's ray. The first torch was carried by Olympic skier Vassilis Dimitriadis.[4]

Kept under close secrecy, the final Olympic Torchbearer turned out to be not one, but five final torchbearers. Rick Hansen brought it into BC Place Stadium, in turn lighting Catriona Le May Doan's torch, who lit Steve Nash's torch, and the flame continued to Nancy Greene and Wayne Gretzky. Three of the four torchbearers lit the indoor Olympic Cauldron; Le May Doan remained with her torch due to a malfunction causing only three of the four arms to be raised. Gretzky exited BC Place, with his torch still lit, and caught a ride on the back of a VANOC vehicle, to Coal Harbour, where he lit the outdoor Cauldron. This makes Gretzky the first person to light two official cauldrons in the same Olympics.

At the start of the closing ceremony, Le May Doan re-lit the indoor Cauldron after clown and mime Yves Dagenais "fixed" and "raised" the arm that malfunctioned in the opening ceremony.

Relay elements

Torch

The torches used for 2010 relay and the lighting ceremonies were made by designers at Bombardier Inc.'s Aerospace division.[5]

Route

Before October 30: Olympia, Greece
October 30: Victoria, British Columbia loop
October 31: Victoria to Nanaimo
November 1: Nanaimo to Tofino
November 2: Tofino to Courtenay to Campbell River
November 3: Campbell River to Whitehorse, Yukon
November 4: Whitehorse to Inuvik, Northwest Territories
November 5: Inuvik to Yellowknife, briefly entering Nunavut
November 6: Yellowknife to Cold Lake, Alberta
November 7: Cold Lake to Churchill, Manitoba, going through Saskatchewan
November 8: Churchill to Alert, Nunavut
November 9: Alert to Iqaluit
November 10: Iqaluit to Gaspé, Quebec
November 11: Sept-Îles to Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador
November 12: Happy Valley-Goose Bay to St. John's
November 13: St. John's loop
November 14: St. John's to Grand Falls-Windsor
November 15: Grand Falls-Windsor to Channel-Port aux Basques
November 16: Channel-Port aux Basques to Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia
November 17: Port Hawkesbury to Truro
November 18: Truro to Halifax, Nova Scotia
November 19: Halifax loop
November 20: Halifax to Lunenburg
November 21: Lunenburg to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
November 22: Charlottetown to Summerside
November 23: Summerside to Moncton, New Brunswick
November 24: Moncton to Saint John
November 25: Saint John to Fredericton
November 26: Not travelling, staying in Fredericton.
November 27: Fredericton to Bathurst
November 28: Bathurst to Edmundston
November 29: Edmundston to Rimouski, Quebec
November 30: Rimouski to Baie-Comeau, Quebec
December 1: Baie-Comeau to Saguenay(Alma)
December 2: Saguenay to Quebec City
December 3: Quebec City to Lévis
December 4: Lévis to Saint-Georges
December 5: Saint-Georges to Sherbrooke
December 6: Sherbrooke to Trois-Rivières
December 7: Trois-Rivières to Longueuil
December 8: Longueuil to Beaconsfield
December 8: Beaconsfield to Kahnawake
December 9: Kahnawake to Mont-Tremblant
December 10: Mont-Tremblant to Montreal
December 11: Montreal to Gatineau
December 12: Gatineau to Ottawa, Ontario
December 13: Ottawa loop
December 14: Ottawa to Kingston
December 15: Kingston to Peterborough
December 16: Peterborough to Oshawa
December 17: Oshawa to Toronto
December 18: Toronto to Brampton
December 19: Brampton to Hamilton
December 20: Hamilton to Niagara Falls
December 21: Niagara Falls to Brantford
December 22: Brantford to Chatham
December 23: Chatham to Windsor
December 24: Windsor to London
December 25: Not travelling, staying in London.
December 26: Not travelling, staying in London.
December 27: London to Kitchener
December 28: Kitchener to Owen Sound
December 29: Owen Sound to Barrie
December 30: Barrie to North Bay
December 31: North Bay to Val-d'Or, Quebec
January 1, 2010: Val-d'Or to Timmins, Ontario
January 2: Timmins to Sault Ste. Marie
January 3: Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay
January 4: Thunder Bay to Kenora
January 5: Kenora to Winnipeg, Manitoba
January 6: Winnipeg loop
January 7: Winnipeg to Portage la Prairie
January 8: Portage la Prairie to Brandon
January 9: Brandon to Regina
January 10: Regina to Swift Current
January 11: Swift Current to Saskatoon to Prince Albert
January 12: Prince Albert to Lloydminster
January 13: Lloydminster to Edmonton, Alberta
January 14: Not travelling, staying in Edmonton.
January 15: Edmonton to Red Deer
January 16: Red Deer to Medicine Hat
January 17: Medicine Hat to Lethbridge
January 18: Lethbridge to Crossfield
January 19: Calgary to Airdrie
January 20: Calgary to Banff
January 21: Banff to Golden, British Columbia
January 22: Golden to Cranbrook
January 23: Cranbrook to Nelson
January 24: Nelson to Osoyoos
January 25: Osoyoos to Kelowna
January 26: Kelowna to Revelstoke
January 27: Revelstoke to Kamloops
January 28: Kamloops to Williams Lake
January 29: Williams Lake to Prince George
January 30: Prince George to Smithers
January 31: Smithers to Fort St. John
February 1: Fort St. John to Prince Rupert
February 2: Prince Rupert to Port Hardy
February 3: Port Hardy to Powell River
February 4: Powell River to Squamish
February 5: Squamish to Whistler
February 6: Whistler to Merritt
February 7: Merritt to Abbotsford
February 8: Abbotsford to Surrey
February 9: Surrey to Richmond (The torch briefly went into the United States at the Peace Arch in Surrey, British Columbia and Blaine, Washington)
February 10: Richmond to West Vancouver, British Columbia
February 11: West Vancouver to Vancouver
February 12: Within Vancouver to BC Place Stadium

References

Glynn, Douglas (22 November 2008). "Olympic Torch will pass through Midland in 2009". Midland Free Press. Midland, Ontario: Osprey Media. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
Wingrove, Josh (21 August 2009). "Vancouver Olympic designer dies at age 40". The Globe and Mail. CTV Television Network. Archived from the original on 30 January 2010. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
CBC Sports (15 September 2009). "Trevor Linden to run Olympic torch relay". CBCSports.ca. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
Lee, Jeff (22 October 2009). "Olympic flame lit, begins journey to Vancouver for 2010 Games". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 24 October 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
Ruffo Leduc, Karina (20 October 2009). "Bombardier Reaches Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Production Milestone". Marketwired. marketwired.com. Retrieved 13 October 2018.

External links

"Provincial and territorial routes", Vancouver 2010 official site, listing the exact stops on the tour.
TorchRelay.net – Torch Relay coverage. Includes torchbearer profiles, photos, videos, and more
"Olympic torch cheered in Mohawk community", CBC .

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[midland-1] Glynn, Douglas (22 November 2008). "Olympic Torch will pass through Midland in 2009". Midland Free Press. Midland, Ontario: Osprey Media. Retrieved 22 November 2008.

[ctv-2] Wingrove, Josh (21 August 2009). "Vancouver Olympic designer dies at age 40". The Globe and Mail. CTV Television Network. Archived from the original on 30 January 2010. Retrieved 14 February 2010.

[3] CBC Sports (15 September 2009). "Trevor Linden to run Olympic torch relay". CBCSports.ca. Retrieved 10 January 2010.

[4] Lee, Jeff (22 October 2009). "Olympic flame lit, begins journey to Vancouver for 2010 Games". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 24 October 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2009.

[5] Ruffo Leduc, Karina (20 October 2009). "Bombardier Reaches Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Production Milestone". Marketwired. marketwired.com. Retrieved 13 October 2018.