Special report:
2008 Olympic
Games
Backgrounder:
Istanbul, city of two continents
ISTANBUL, Turkey, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The sacred
flame of the Beijing Olympics arrived in this Turkish biggest city at 00:05 on
Thursday (GMT 2105 on Wednesday) to start the second leg of an unprecedented
global torch relay.
The Olympic flame, carried in a specially-designed lantern, was flied into Istanbul onboard a chartered plane from Kazakhstan's largest city Almaty, the first leg of the global relay.
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Jiang Xiaoyu(C), the executive vice president for the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG), steps down the chartered plane with the lantern which holds the Olympic flame at the airport in Istanbul, Turkey, April 3, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)
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The Beijing Organizing Committee of Olympic Games
(BOCOG) executive vice president, Jiang Xiaoyu, carried the flame lantern and
walked off the plane and made a spell of exhibition at the airport, which is
located in the European part of Istanbul.
Upon arrival, the Olympic flame and the whole
delegation were welcomed by a cheering crowd, among whom were vice governor of
Istanbul province Ergun Gungor, senior official of the Turkish Olympic Committee
Yalcin Aksoy and Chinese ambassador to Turkey Sun Guoxiang.
Earlier on Tuesday, Aksoy said that the 17.8-km torch
relay will be started on Thursday afternoon in Istanbul, the only city in the
world located on two continents -- Asia and Europe.
According to Aksoy, the starting point of the relay
in Istanbul will be the city's signature St. Sophia Square (adjacent to Sultan
Ahmet Square) and Tugba Karademir, a promising Turkish figure skater aged 23,
will be the first runner.
Then Karademir and following torch carriers, along the 2-km-long Olympic convoy, will wind their ways through the city and across the Bosporus Bridge, a famous suspension bridge spanning Asia and Europe.
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Jiang Xiaoyu (C), the executive vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG), shows the lantern which holds the Olympic flame in the cabin of the chartered plane at the airport in Istanbul, Turkey, April 3, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)
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After returning to the European part of Istanbul, the
torch will head for the destination, Taksim Square, for the lighting of a
ceremonial cauldron. At the end, celebrations and plays will be staged on the
square. With it, the Olympic flame will go to Russia's St Petersburg.
Aksoy added then that Turkey's national TV
broadcaster TRT will broadcast live some major parts of the torch relay and
enable Turkish people around the country to share the passion and joy of the
torch relay.
The 2008 Olympic flame was ignited on March 24 in
Ancient Olympia of Greece and was handed over to Beijing on March 31 after a
six-day relay in Greece.
The 130-day torch relay will cover 137,000 kilometers
before the flame returns to Beijing and enters the National Stadium on Aug. 8
for the Olympics' opening ceremony.
A total of 21,880 torch bearers will be participating
in the unprecedented relay, which is held under the theme of "Journey of
Harmony."
Sacred flame arouses Olympic passions
among Istanbul citizens
ISTANBUL, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The citizens of Turkey's
largest city Istanbul have been in full swing for the upcoming Beijing Olympics
torch relay, regarding it as a new opportunity for the two countries to
cooperate in sports and promote themselves. Full story
Kazakh president starts up Olympic
flame global journey
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Nursultan Nazarbayev, president of
Kazakhstan, shows the torch to the public before he starts to run as the
first torchbearer of the country during the Olympic torch relay in Almaty,
Kazakhstan, April 2, 2008. (Xinhua/Zhou Wenjie)
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ALMATY, April 2 (Xinhua) -- President of Kazakhstan
Nursultan Nazarbayev carried the Olympic flame as the first torchbearer,
starting up a 20-kilometer relay on Wednesday through Almaty, the first stopover
of 2008 Games torch relay outside China's mainland. Full story
Olympic torch leaves for Almaty,
starting world tour
BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing Olympic torch
relay officially embarked on its world tour as the charter Air China plane
carrying the holy flame on Tuesday left Beijing for Kazakhstan's Almaty, the
first stop of the 137,000 kilometers (85,000 miles) worldwide
journey. Full story
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