Olympic torch to top Qomolangma on world relay

By Shanghai Daily

The Olympic flame will be carried to the top of Mt. Qomolangma (Everest) next year as the major highlight of the torch relay for the 2008 Beijing games, organizers said.

The traditional journey of the Olympic flame is scheduled to be the longest in the event's history, tracing a route that covers five continents.

At a ceremony attended by senior members of China's Communist Party and the International Olympic Committee, organizers said the journey will cover 137,000 kilometers and last 130 days.

Organizers estimated that more than 22,000 torch bearers will be involved in the globe-trotting parade.

"It will be a relay that will cover the longest distance and be most inclusive and involve the most people in Olympic history," said Liu Qi, head of Beijing's Olympic organizing committee.

The relay is the latest grand plan associated with an Olympics that organizers and IOC officials have said should set a new standard for the games.

"Most of China's citizens are looking forward and making preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympic games. Most people in the world are looking forward to a successful Olympic games that can promote the friendship of people around the world," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a news conference.

The relay is a popular public-relations tool and the only contact most people have with the games.

As with all Olympics, next year's relay will begin in Greece and wind across the globe before it's used to ignite the cauldron at the opening ceremony on August 8, 2008, in Beijing's 91,000-seat Olympic Stadium. The China section will begin on May 1 when the flame arrives in Taipei, one of the 114 domestic cities on the route, which also includes Shanghai.

Other stops announced yesterday include Paris; San Francisco; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania; Islamabad, Pakistan; and Pyongyang, in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"The Beijing 2008 torch relay will, as its theme says, be a journey of harmony, bringing friendship and respect to people of different nationalities, races and creeds," IOC President Jacques Rogge told the ceremony.

"I have no doubt the Beijing 2008 Olympic torch relay will leave many extraordinary memories and create new dreams for people around the world." The relay's signature moment is expected to be its ascent to the summit of Mount Everest, which straddles China's Tibet and Nepal. A team of specially trained torch bearers plan to carry the flame on an ascent to the world's highest peak sometime in May, weather permitting.

Firing Up Tradition

The Olympic torch features a scroll-like design and a traditional "lucky cloud" motif.
Made of aluminum, it stands 72 centimeters tall and weighs 985 grams.

The torch construction is environmentally friendly. The materials are recyclable, and the propane fuel meets environmental requirements.

The torch casting was designed by the Lenovo Creative Center, and the flame system was designed by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Group.