Nov 21, 2008

Today the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) unveiled the route for the Canada-wide 45,000-kilometre Olympic Torch Relay, presented by Coca-Cola and RBC.

Close to Home

Throughout this expedition the Olympic Flame will be a beacon of peace and a memento of human excellence for all Canadians in rural communities, towns and cities dotted along the route. More than 90 per cent of Canadians will be within an hour’s drive of the Torch Relay Route or a designated celebration site.

“The Olympic Torch Relay is a very special time for Canadians to come together and celebrate the Olympic Games, our country and our communities,” said Jim Richards, director of Torch Relays. “We’re working very hard to develop and deliver an Olympic Torch Relay that engages and inspires Canadians in every province and territory.”

Journey of 106 Days

Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Torch Relay. (Getty Images) Following the ceremonial lighting of the Olympic Flame in Olympia, Greece, the torch’s Canadian journey will begin on October 30, 2009 in Victoria, British Columbia and will conclude on February 12, 2010 with the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron in Vancouver. After 106 days the flame will have touched more than 1,000 communities and places of interest, travelling as far west as Old Crow, Yukon; as far east as Cape Spear, Newfoundland and Labrador; as far south as Point Pelee, Ontario; and up to Canada’s northernmost inhabited point — Alert, Nunavut. The methods of transportation are still to be unveiled, but stay tuned for exciting Torch Relay updates.

The Olympic Torch Relay will visit 187 celebration communities, 115 Aboriginal communities, 20 key places of interest, 14 Canadian Forces Bases and stations, and 690 other route communities. Here are a few prominent sights along the route:

Alberta

• Hoodoos
• Banff National Park
• Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo Jump

British Columbia

• Kootenay Pass
• Craigellachie (site of The Last Spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway)

Manitoba

• The Forks, Winnipeg
• Canadian Forces Base, Shilo

New Brunswick

• Fundy National Park
• Carleton Martello Tower National Historic Site

Newfoundland and Labrador

• Cape Spear (easternmost point in North America and the relay)
• L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site

Northwest Territories

• Igloo Church in Inuvik

Nova Scotia

• Lunenburg, home of the Bluenose
• Annapolis Royal

Nunavut

• Resolute
• Alert (northernmost point of the relay)

Ontario

• Parliament hill
• Niagara Falls
• Point Pelee (southernmost point of the relay)

Prince Edward Island

• Anne of Green Gables House National Historic Site
• Confederation Bridge

Quebec

• Old Quebec City
• Olympic Stadium, Montreal

Saskatchewan

• Wanuskawin Heritage Park

Yukon

• Old Crow (westernmost point of the relay)

Community Celebrations

Nearly 200 communities across Canada will have the distinct opportunity to gather and participate in the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay community celebrations. Designated celebration towns will open up their events so that friends, relatives and neighbours from nearby communities can share in the fun.

Torchbearer Programs

Both Coca-Cola and RBC have developed torchbearer selection programs that are inclusive and accessible for all Canadians. You don’t have to be a former athlete or a world leader to become an Olympic Torchbearer. Through the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay program, Canadians from many walks of life will have the opportunity and the honour of being a torchbearer.

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