- The relay will take over 100 days to complete. The flame will have travelled over 45,000 km in that time.
- About 90% of Canada's population will be within a 1 hour drive of the torch.
- Over 12,000 people will carry the torch. Most of them will be average Canadians.
- The Olympic Flame will visit the extreme 4 points of Canada:
- North - Canadian Forces Station Alert, Nunavut
- East - Cape Spear, Newfoundland and Labrador
- South - Point Pelee National Park, Ontario
- West - Queen Charlotte Island, B.C.
But now onto my experience.
I decided quite late that I would head down and try to see the torch close up at the Alberta Legislature before heading to the main celebration downtown at Sir Winston Churchill Square. So I got decked out in all of my Canadian finery and headed out.
I finally got down to the Legislature and found it was already quite packed. Apparently I wasn't the only one with this idea.
After a good deal of waiting and one false start (the arrival of the out-bound torch bearer) the flame finally appeared on the east side of the Legislature building.
It was quite a thrill to be mere feet from the Olympic flame.
I think the entourage surrounding the torchbearers was almost as large as the crowd of on-lookers.
After a quick and impromptu rendition of O Canada (and, thankfully, a lack of speeches), the two torchbearers tipped their torches together and the flame was passed on.
After its brief appearance at the Legislature, the torch began it's trip north to downtown. My plan was to beat the torch by taking the train.
Again, I wasn't the only one with this plan. I arrived in Sir Winston Churchill Square and found it was already a LITTLE busy.
Fortunately I wasn't anywhere near the back of the crowd.
It was basically shoulder-to-shoulder people from the library all the way to City Hall over the complete width of the square. I've never seen so many people packed into Churchill Square.
One guy there seemed to be an even bigger fan of the Olympics than I am. He even brought his own Olympic flag!
After some reasonably entertaining entertainment and another good long wait (outside, in Edmonton, in January...) Doreen Ryan finally arrived with the torch.
Doreen is an Edmonton-born Olympian. She competed in speed skating in 1960 in Squaw Valley, California, USA and in 1964 in Innsbruck, Austria. Her best result was 9th place in both the 500m and 1000m in 1960.
With a bit of pomp and ceremony, the Edmonton cauldron was finally lit!
Thankfully the speeches were brief...
Following the cauldron being lit, the real entertainment arrived! The Be Arthurs! Also known as the greatest ukulele band in Alberta. Definitely made the wait worth it.
By this point in time the crowd had begun to thin out and I managed to get within 50 feet of the stage.
Finally, the ceremony came to an end and one of the Olympic Flame's first nations guardians came out to recapture the flame and extinguish the cauldron.
It was quite...interesting to see how much of an influence the corporate sponsors had on the event. Coke was EVERYWHERE. They even went so far as to design custom aluminum bottles for Coke and Coke Zero which were only available (for free) at torch relay events. RBC had a slightly quieter showing, but they were still there with free pennants.
Overall, the torch relay and the lighting ceremony were a great time. Everyone was out there just having a great time and showing a very rare exhibition of Canadian patriotism.
I decided quite late that I would head down and try to see the torch close up at the Alberta Legislature before heading to the main celebration downtown at Sir Winston Churchill Square. So I got decked out in all of my Canadian finery and headed out.
I finally got down to the Legislature and found it was already quite packed. Apparently I wasn't the only one with this idea.
After a good deal of waiting and one false start (the arrival of the out-bound torch bearer) the flame finally appeared on the east side of the Legislature building.
It was quite a thrill to be mere feet from the Olympic flame.
I think the entourage surrounding the torchbearers was almost as large as the crowd of on-lookers.
After a quick and impromptu rendition of O Canada (and, thankfully, a lack of speeches), the two torchbearers tipped their torches together and the flame was passed on.
After its brief appearance at the Legislature, the torch began it's trip north to downtown. My plan was to beat the torch by taking the train.
Again, I wasn't the only one with this plan. I arrived in Sir Winston Churchill Square and found it was already a LITTLE busy.
Fortunately I wasn't anywhere near the back of the crowd.
It was basically shoulder-to-shoulder people from the library all the way to City Hall over the complete width of the square. I've never seen so many people packed into Churchill Square.
One guy there seemed to be an even bigger fan of the Olympics than I am. He even brought his own Olympic flag!
After some reasonably entertaining entertainment and another good long wait (outside, in Edmonton, in January...) Doreen Ryan finally arrived with the torch.
Doreen is an Edmonton-born Olympian. She competed in speed skating in 1960 in Squaw Valley, California, USA and in 1964 in Innsbruck, Austria. Her best result was 9th place in both the 500m and 1000m in 1960.
With a bit of pomp and ceremony, the Edmonton cauldron was finally lit!
Thankfully the speeches were brief...
Following the cauldron being lit, the real entertainment arrived! The Be Arthurs! Also known as the greatest ukulele band in Alberta. Definitely made the wait worth it.
By this point in time the crowd had begun to thin out and I managed to get within 50 feet of the stage.
Finally, the ceremony came to an end and one of the Olympic Flame's first nations guardians came out to recapture the flame and extinguish the cauldron.
It was quite...interesting to see how much of an influence the corporate sponsors had on the event. Coke was EVERYWHERE. They even went so far as to design custom aluminum bottles for Coke and Coke Zero which were only available (for free) at torch relay events. RBC had a slightly quieter showing, but they were still there with free pennants.
Overall, the torch relay and the lighting ceremony were a great time. Everyone was out there just having a great time and showing a very rare exhibition of Canadian patriotism.
I can't wait for Vancouver.
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