Developing the Route

Torchbearer Andri Slalou carries the Olympic Flame during the Athens 2004 Olympic Games Torch Relay in Nicosia, Cyprus. Putting together the national relay route that will connect Canadians and highlight our cultural and geographic diversity took much time, planning and energy. Every effort was made to go to as many communities and places of interest as possible in the days, weeks and months leading up to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. 

Beginning in 2006, VANOC’s Torch Relay organizers met with federal, provincial and territorial governments, tourism partners and community stakeholders to prepare and plan for the route. The advice and counsel these partners shared while the route was being developed helped turn it into the inclusive and expansive route it is.  From Pacific Ocean to Arctic Ocean to Atlantic Ocean, the focus of the national relay route is the people, places and perspectives that make us Canadian. 

There are so many things to see and do in Canada. And it is a challenge to fit it all in. Rather than taking our torch relay to other countries and international destinations, we decided to fill the travel book with Canadian photos and stories — Canada has many things to offer and this is our time to showcase, to the world, the Canada we all know and love.

The 2010 Olympic Torch Relay will take place in Canada in order to share the Olympic Flame with as many Canadians as possible and bring it to as many communities as we can in the months leading up to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. At the end of the relay, Canadians will be able to look back and see their entire country captured in words, stories and pictures — memories that will, no doubt, last a lifetime.