By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2008 TexSport Publications
ANCIENT OLYMPIA, GREECE (March 24, 2008) The Olympic Flame was lit today in ancient Olympia in front of the Temple of Hera.
The 2008 Beijing Olympic torch will be carried on foot from Olympia, Greece to Beijing, China. The trip is 85,000 miles long and will take about five months before it reaches Beijing on August 6 and enters Olympic stadium for the opening ceremony on August 8.
This is the longest journey for the flame in the history of the Olympics and will require tens of thousands of torchbearers. It will pass through five continents and visit 23 cities before reaching China.
Besides Greece and China, other countries including France, Kazakhstan, Russia, and USA are on the list; so are the two small Chinese islands of Hong Kong and Macao.
The torch will reach San Francisco on April 9. Weather permitting the torch may also reach the top of Mt. Everest, the highest peak in the world, in May.
China is still insisting to keep the route through Tibet despite the violent riots and deadly crackdown: the torch is planned to reach Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet, in June.
A single pro-Tibetan voice was heard during the lighting ceremony but was quickly silenced.
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