OLYMPIC TORCH TO BE CARRIED THROUGH FIVE CONTINENTS

Olympic torch of summer Olympic games to be held in Athens from August 13 to 27 will begin its journey around the world on June 2 evening. The torch was lit March 25 in Olympia, the birthplace of Olympic games. It has been placed in front of the ancient Olympic stadium in Athens where the Olympic games were resumed in 1896. The worldwide relay will begin from the flight of the special aircraft of Greek “Olympic Airlines” to Australia and be the longest in the history of the Games.

Australia is the first country out of 34 that torch will pass through. The first city where the torch will be brought is Sydney, the place of the last Olympic games. Olympic flame will travel through five continents for the first time including the South America and Africa.

Olympic flame will cover 78 thousand km for 35 days and 1500 athletes from various countries will bear it all the way long.

Organizers consider that 260 million people residing in cities the torch to pass through will watch the Olympic torch relay. These are Olympic host cities. Moreover, the flame will be carried to the pivotal cities – Brussels (EU headquarters), Lausanne (HQ of the International Olympic Committee) and Beijing (host city of next Olympic games 2008).