2008 Summer Olympics torch relay route

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2008 Olympic Torch Relay. The cancelled Taiwan route is shown in red.

The 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay route involved 21 countries where the Olympic torch was carried between its lighting in Greece in March 2008 and the Olympic opening ceremony in China's host city of Beijing in August 2008. The relay took place in four separate legs: in Greece, an international leg, in the Special Administrative Region of China (Hong Kong and Macau), and in mainland China.

The planned route originally included a stop in Taipei between Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Kong, but there was disagreement in Beijing and Taipei over language used to describe whether it was an international or a domestic part of the route. While the Olympic committees of China and Chinese Taipei reached initial consensus on the approach, the government of the Republic of China in Taiwan intervened, stating that this placement could be interpreted as placing Taiwan on the same level as Hong Kong and Macau, an implication it objected to. The Beijing Organizing Committee attempted to continue negotiation,^[1] but further disputes arose over the flag or the anthem of the Republic of China along the 24 km torch route in Taiwan.^[2] By the midnight deadline for concluding the negotiation on September 21, 2007, Taiwan and China were unable to come to terms with the issue of the Torch Relay. In the end, both sides of the Taiwan Strait decided to eliminate the Taipei leg.^[3]

Greece torch relay route

The initial flame is gathered in front of the Temple of Hera. Actress Maria Nafpliotou ignited the first torch. The Olympic Flame Handover ceremony was also held on March 30.

Greece torch relay route[4] 2008 Olympic Torch Relay in Greece
Date	Greece Prefecture / City		Length	Notable torchbearers	# of torchbearers
March 24	Ilia	Ancient Olympia ruins		Alexandros Nikolaidis – medalist in taekwondo Luo Xuejuan – gold medalist swimmer[5] Wang Leehom – singer[6]
		Pyrgos
		Ilida
	Achaea	Patras
	Aetolia-Acarnania	Missolonghi
March 25		Agrinio
		Amfilochia
		Menidi
	Arta	Arta
	Ioannina	Ioannina
March 26		Metsovo
	Grevena	Grevena
	Kozani	Kozani
	Imathia	Veria
March 27		Naousa
	Pella	Skydra
		Edessa
		Giannitsa
		Ancient Pella ruins
	Thessaloniki	Thessaloniki
March 28	Pieria	Ancient Dion ruins
	Larissa	Larissa
	Magnesia	Volos
	Phthiotis	Lamia
March 29	East Attica	Ancient Amphiareion of Oropos ruins
		Marathon
		Rafina
	Athens	The Acropolis at Athens
March 30		Athens' Panathinaiko Stadium

International torch relay route

International torch relay route 2008 Olympic Torch Relay's international leg
Date	Country (city)		Length[4]	Notable torchbearers	# of torchbearers[4]
March 31	China  (Beijing)			Hu Jintao – paramount leader of PRC Liu Xiang – gold medalist hurdler
April 2	Kazakhstan  (Almaty) (start) Medeo stadium (finish) Astana Square		20 km	Nursultan Nazarbaev – president of Kazakhstan Bakhtiyar Artayev – gold medalist weightlifter Yermakhan Ibraimov – boxer Yuriy Melnichenko – gold medalist wrestler Anatoly Khrapaty – weightlifter Vladimir Smirnov – the first Olympic champion for independent Kazakhstan cross-country skiing Roza Rymbaeva – singer[7]	80
April 3	Turkey  (Istanbul) (start) Sultanahmet Square (finish) Taksim Square		20 km	Tuğba Karademir – figure skater Taner Sağır – champion weightlifter[8]	80
April 5	Russia  (St.Petersburg) (start) Victory Square (finish) Palace Square		20 km	Lyubov Yegorova – cross-country skiing Viktor Zhdanovich – fencing Vladimir Salnikov, Alexander Popov, Sergey Kopliakov, Andrey Krylov – gold medalist swimmer Alexander Dityatin – gold medalist artistic gymnastics Tatyana Kazankina – gold medalist runner Anatoly Alyabyev – gold medalist biathlon Evgeni Plushenko, Tatiana Totmianina, Maxim Marinin, Anton Sikharulidze, Alexei Urmanov, Oksana Kazakova, Artur Dmitriev, Oleg Vasiliev – gold medalist figure skater Svetlana Zhurova – speed skating Tamara Moskvina – figure skating coach Fedor Emelianenko – mixed martial artist Robert Swan – polar explorers Artur Chilingarov – cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova – astronaut Alisa Freindlich – actress Andrei Arshavin – football player[9]	80
April 6	Great Britain   (London) (start) Wembley Stadium (finish) The O2 arena		48 km	Kelly Holmes – gold medalist runner Danny Crates – gold medalist Paralympic runner Sir Trevor McDonald – journalist Konnie Huq – TV Presenter Vanessa Mae – classical musician Kevin Pietersen – cricketer Tim Henman – retired tennis player Amara Karan – actress[10]	80
April 7	France  (Paris) (start) Eiffel Tower (finish) Stade Charléty		originally 28 km	Stéphane Diagana – gold medalist runner David Douillet – gold medalist in judo Marie-José Pérec – gold medalist runner Jin Jing – Paralympic fencer Thierry Henry – Soccer star Teddy Riner – gold medalist judoka Arnaud Di Pasquale – tennis player Pi Hongyan – badminton player Mary Pierce – tennis player[11]
April 9	United States of America  (San Francisco) (start) AT&T Park (finish) San Francisco International Airport		unannounced	Lin Li – swimmer
April 11	Argentina  (Buenos Aires) (start) Lola Mora amphitheater (finish) Buenos Aires Riding Club		13.8 km	Carlos Espínola – windsurfer[12] Georgina Bardach, Paola Suárez, Pablo Chacón – athletes	78
April 13	Tanzania  (Dar es Salaam) (start) A railway station of Dar es Salaam (finish) Tanzanian National Stadium		5 km	John Stephen Akhwari – marathoner Dorcus Inzikuru – steeplechaser Anna Tibaijuka – Undersecretary general of the United Nations[13]	80
April 14	Oman  (Muscat) (start) place roundabout Al Bustan (where lies the "Sohar" boat which visited China in 1981) (finish) Qurm Natural Park		20 km		80
April 16	Pakistan  (Islamabad)			Samiullah Khan – field hockey Jahangir Khan – squash player[14]	65
April 17	India  (New Delhi) (start) Raisina Hill (finish) India Gate		2.3 km	Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Abhinav Bindra – sport shooter[15] Aamir Khan – actor, director	around 70
April 19	Thailand  (Bangkok) (start) Yaowarat Road in Bangkok's Chinese Town (finish) Royal Plaza		10 km	Anant Siripasraporn – Deputy Permanent Secretary for Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Manus Boonjumnong, Somluck Kamsing – gold medalist boxers Udomporn Polsak, Pawina Thongsuk – gold medalist weightlifters [16]	80
April 21	Malaysia  (Kuala Lumpur) (start) Independence Square (finish) Petronas Twin Towers		16.5 km	Cheah Soon Kit, Yap Kim Hock – retired badminton player Nicol David – squash player[17]	80
April 22	Indonesia  (Jakarta)		7 km; originally 20 km	Taufik Hidayat, Susi Susanti, Alan Budikusuma – badminton player[18] Fauzi Bowo – governor of Jakarta[19]	80
April 24	Australia  (Canberra) (start) Reconciliation Place (finish) Commonwealth Park		16 km	Ian Thorpe, Jodie Henry, Libby Trickett, Matt Welsh, Adam Pine, Alice Mills, Petria Thomas – gold medalist swimmers Ron Clarke – runner Mark Beretta – TV sports reporter Tania Major – Aboriginal activist Megan Marcks – coxless pair rower Jonathon Welch – conductor Robert de Castella – gold medalist marathoner Lee Kernaghan – singer Fiona Stanley – epidemiologist Mark Beretta – sports broadcaster Peter Sharp – Rugby league coach Louise Sauvage – Paralympic wheelchair racer Jai Taurima – long jumper Fiona Wood – director of Royal Perth Hospital, surgeon Heather McKay – squash player[20]	80
April 26	Japan  (Nagano) (start) Small park in Nagano (finish) Wakasato Park		18.7 km	Senichi Hoshino – baseball manager Kosuke Kitajima – gold medalist swimmer Mizuki Noguchi – gold medalist runner Ai Fukuhara – table tennis player[21]	80
April 27	South Korea  (Seoul) (start) Olympic Park (finish) City Hall Plaza		22 km	Moon Dae-Sung – gold medalist taekwondo Kim Mi-Jung – gold medalist shot putter Ahn Hyun-Soo – speed skater Nam Eun-Young – gold medalist in handball Kim Soo-Nyung – gold medalist archer[22] Bada (singer) – singer and musical actress Jang Nara – singer and actress	70+
April 28	North Korea  (Pyongyang) (start) Tower of Juche Idea (finish) Kim Il Sung Stadium		20 km	Pak Du Ik – football player	80
April 29	Vietnam  (Ho Chi Minh City) (start) Opera House (finish) Military Zone 7 Competition Hall		10 km		60

Special Administrative Region of China torch relay route

The opening relay route ceremony was held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.^[23] The song "We are ready" was performed by Eason Chan, Hotcha, EO2 accompanied by Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Hong Kong Dance company, Gauido international golden eagle gymnastics team, and senior mixed choir of the Diocesan Girls' School and the Diocesan Boys' School.^[24][25]

Date	City		Length[4]	Notable torchbearers	# of torchbearers
May 2	Hong Kong (start) Hong Kong Cultural Centre (finish) Golden Bauhinia Square		26 km	Lee Lai-shan – gold medalist in windsurfing Li Ching, Ko Lai-chak – table-tennis players Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Alex Fong, Kelly Chen, Leo Ku – singers Rebecca Chiu Wing-yin – squash player Leung Chun-ying – member of Executive Council Stephen Chan – general manager of TVB Victor Li Tzar-kuoi – managing director of Cheung Kong group Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong – managing director of Sun Hung Kai group Ng Ching-fai – principal of Hong Kong Baptist University Michael Cheng Lai-hin – footballer Koon Wai-chee, Wang Chen – badminton players Lee Ka-kit – vice chairman of Henderson Group Chu Ching-wu – president of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Liza Wang – actress, singer & chairperson of Cantonese Opera Performers Association Yip Wing-sie – music director of Hong Kong Sinfonietta Rita Fan – president of Legislative Council Timothy Fok – president of SFOC Wong Kam-po – gold medalist at Asian games in cycling	119
May 3	Macau (start and finish) Macau Fisherman's Wharf		19 km originally 27 km[26]	Miriam Yeung – Hong Kong singer Stanley Ho – casino tycoon.	120

Hong Kong and Macau gallery

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  Torch relay route map

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  Section 1, Tsim Sha Tsui

• 

  Section 2, Tsing Ma Bridge

• 

  Section 3A, Sha Tin

• 

  Section 3B, Sha Tin Racecourse

• 

  Avenue of Stars

• 

  Section 5, Victoria Harbour

• 

  Central and Wan Chai

• 

  Relayer #38: Thomas Kwok (郭炳江)

• 

  Relayer #51: Ma Koon-sang (馬觀生)

• 

  Fuwa designs along the way

• 

  Banners along the way

Mainland China torch relay route

The total torchbearer counts for each city are available at the official website of the torch relay. The relay was suspended from May 19 – May 21 to honor victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

Mainland China torch relay route Planned torch relay route in mainland China before the earthquake.
Date	China Province / City		Length	Notable torchbearers	# of torchbearers
May 4	Hainan	Sanya	30.09[27]	Yang Yang – gold medalist speed skater Yi Jianlian – basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks Yang Lan – businesswomen Zhang Zilin – Miss World 2007 Huang Xiaoming – actor Jackie Chan – actor[28]	208[27]
May 5		Wuzhishan	1.2 km		6
May 5		Wanning (including Qionghai)	16.63 km (+13.51)		113 (+89)
May 6		Haikou	30.2 km		208
May 7	Guangdong	Guangzhou	40.82 km	Yang Jinghui – gold medalist diver Ulrika Knape – gold medalist Swedish diver Dong Zhaozhi – silver medalist fencer Shen Xiangfu – former Chinese national football coach	208[29]
May 8		Shenzhen	40 km	Xiao Jinfeng – gold medalist gymnast Wang Shi (王石) – head of China Vanke[30]	–
May 8	Mt Everest Summit		–	–	–
May 9	Guangdong	Huizhou	–	Liang Wenbo – snooker player[31]	–
May 10		Shantou	–	Sun Shuwei – gold medalist diver Xu Yinchuan – international master of Chinese chess[32]	208
May 11	Fujian	Fuzhou	–	Zheng Meizhu – gold medalist volleyball player[33] Hou Yuzhu – gold medalist volleyball player[34] Lin Qiang (林强), a sixth-generation descendant of Lin Zexu – person who opposed opium trade with the British in the Qing dynasty and led to the First Opium War[34]	208
May 12		Quanzhou	20.35 km	–	108[35]
May 12		Xiamen	17.4 km	Guo Yuehua – winner of 8 consecutive titles for table tennis Ji Xinpeng – gold medalist badminton player[36]	100
May 13		Longyan	30.5 km	Zhang Xiangxiang – bronze medalist weightlifter Shi Zhiyong – gold medalist weightlifter Chen Hong – badminton player[37]	208
May 14	Jiangxi	Ruijin	15 km	–	208[38]
May 15		Jinggangshan	14.5 km	–	[39]
May 16		Nanchang	–	Peng Bo – gold medalist diver
May 17	Zhejiang	Wenzhou	–	–	108[40]
May 17		Shaoxing	–	–	100[41]
May 18		Hangzhou	–	Li Lingwei – badminton champion[42]	208[43]
May 19 – May 21		–	–	Relay suspended to honor victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake	-
May 22		Ningbo	–	–	-
May 22		Jiaxing	8.2 km	Lü Lin – gold medalist table tennis player	90
May 23 – May 24	Shanghai		62.84 km (day 1) + 136.55 km (day 2)	Zhuang Yong – gold medalist swimmer Zhou Xun – actress and singer Liu Xuegen (刘学根), father of Liu Xiang Li Bingbing – actress Tony Leung Ka-Fai – actor[44] Sun Wen – football (soccer) player Chen Lu – world champion figure skater Zhu Jianhua – medalist high jumper[45] Lee Kaifu – founder of Google China[46] Cao Yanhua – table tennis champion	416 (including 44 foreign nationals)
May 25	Jiangsu	Suzhou	17 km	–	104[47]
May 25		Nantong	20 km	–	104[48]
May 26		Taizhou	12.8 km	–	104[49]
May 26		Yangzhou	11 km	–	104[50]
May 27		Nanjing	12.9 km	Yang Yang – badminton player Chen Peisi – actor Gao Yuanyuan – actress	208[51]
May 28	Anhui	Hefei	–	Fan Xueping – wushu champion Jiang Xiaoyu (蒋效愚) – executive VP of Beijing Organizing Committee	[52]
May 29		Huainan	–	Zhou Tao – TV presenter Zhang Yan (张燕) – singer	100
May 29		Wuhu	–	Vicki Zhao – actress and singer	100[53]
May 30		Jixi	–	Ding Junhui – snooker player	80[54]
May 30		Huangshan	–	Ye Qiaobo – speed skating champ	120[55]
May 31	Hubei	Wuhan	20.7 km	Li Xiaoshuang – gold medalist gymnast[56]
June 1		Yichang	10 km	Li Ting – gold medalist tennis player Karen Mok – singer[57]	208[58]
June 2		Jingzhou	18.6 km	Zeng Li (曾黎) – actress	208[59]
June 3	Hunan	Yueyang	16.9 km	–	[60]
June 4		Changsha	–	Zhong Zhihua – head of Hunan University Xiong Ni – 3-time gold medalist diver[61]	208
June 5		Shaoshan	79.1 km		208[62]
June 6	Guangxi	Guilin	–	Xiao Jiangang – weightlifting champion Tang Lingsheng – gold medalist weighlifter[63]
June 7		Nanning	16.5 km	Chen Wenzhong – olympic sprinter Mo Huilan – gymnast	[64]
June 8		Baise	–	–	[65]
June 9	Yunnan	Kunming	8.3 km	Angela Chang – Taiwanese singer and actress	208[66]
June 10		Lijiang	26 km	–	-[67]
June 11		Xamgyi'nyilha	40.36 km	Zhang Guowei – track & field[68]	–
June 12	Guizhou	Guiyang	16.9 km	–	208[69]
June 13		Kaili	19.3 km	–	208[70]
June 14		Zunyi	6.3 km	–	208[71]
June 15 – June 16	Chongqing	–	17 km	Gu Li – Go champion	208[72]
June 17	Xinjiang	Ürümqi	12.5 km	Wang Yanhong – gold medalist archer Abuduxikeer Mijiti – boxing champion	208[73]
June 18		Kashi	7.43 km	–	208[74]
June 19		Shihezi	–	–	-[75]
June 19		Changji	4.4 km	–	104[76]
June 21	Tibet	Lhasa	11 km[77]	Cedai Drolma – singer[78]	156[79]
June 22	Qinghai	Golmud	7.5 km	–	-[80]
June 23		Qinghai Lake	6 km	–	162[81]
June 24		Xining	–	Li Chunxiu – medalist racewalker	-[82]
June 25	Shanxi	Yuncheng	9.8 km	Lu Shuming – actor Zhang Weihong – medalist handball player	104[83]
June 25		Pingyao	–	–	[84]
June 26		Taiyuan	39 km	Yan Weiwen – singer Tan Jing – singer Robin Li – CEO of Baidu	208[85]
June 27		Datong	4 km	–	208[86]
June 28	Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center		22	Fei Junlong, Nie Haisheng – crew of Shenzhou spacecraft 6[87]	–
June 29	Ningxia	Zhongwei	3.3 km	–	-[88]
June 30		Wuzhong	5.6 km	–	193[89]
July 1		Yinchuan	–	–	-[90]
July 2	Shaanxi	Yan'an	6.31 km	–	208[91]
July 3		Yangling	6.53 km	–	95[92]
July 3		Xianyang	6.9 km	–	113[93]
July 4		Xi'an	–	Tian Liang – gold medalist diver	200[94]
July 5	Gansu	Dunhuang	7.6 km	Fan Jinshi – director of Dunhuang Research Institute	120[95]
July 6		Jiayuguan	13.8 km	–	208[96]
July 7		Lanzhou	–	–	-[97]
July 8	Inner Mongolia	Hohhot	6.2 km	Mengke Bateer – pro basketball player Pan Gang – president of Yili group[98]	208[99]
July 9		Ordos	6.3 km	–	104[100]
July 9		Baotou	–	–	104[101]
July 10		Chifeng	6.2 km	Siqingaowa – actress	208[102]
July 11	Heilongjiang	Harbin	14.86 km	Zhang Dan & Zhang Hao – pairs figure skating Shen Xue & Zhao Hongbo – pairs figure skating Sun Xue – singer	208[103]
July 12		Daqing	7.6 km	–	208[104]
July 13		Qiqihar	7.5 km	–	208[105]
July 14	Jilin	Changchun	9 km	Wang Chunlu – silver medalist short track skater	218[106]
July 15		Songyuan	–	–	110[107]
July 15		Jilin City	7.7 km	Wang Chunli – medalist skater	108[108]
July 16		Yanji	–	Xie Jun – chess champion	-[109]
July 17	Liaoning	Shenyang	10.08 km	Zhuang Xiaoyan – gold medalist in judo Han Xiaopeng – gold medalist freestyle skier Li Yuwei – gold medalist shooter Gao Hongmiao – racewalking champion	241[110]
July 18		Anshan	7.3 km	Wang Yifu – gold medalist shooter	175[111]
July 19		Dalian	–		[112]
July 21	Shandong	Qingdao	14.5 km	Zhang Xiaodong – medalist windsurfer	259[113]
July 21		Linyi	5.6 km	–	109[114]
July 22		Qufu	5.1 km	–	100[115]
July 22		Tai'an	–	Bi Wenjing – uneven bars athlete Xing Aowei – gymnast	120[116]
July 23		Jinan	13.5 km	Xing Huina – gold medalist track & field Lin Weining – weighlifter Wu Minxia – gold medalist diver Qiao Yunping – table tennis champion Guo Jingjing – gold medalist diver	243[117]
July 25	Henan	Zhengzhou	7.6 km		208[118]
July 26		Kaifeng	6.6 km	Chang Wu (張武) – a designer of Dancing Beijing symbol Wang Liqun – historian and professor of Henan University Mark Roswell – xiangsheng actor Zheng Haixia – medalist basketball player	208[119]
July 27		Luoyang	6.9 km	–	208[120]
July 28		Anyang	5.9 km	–	208[121]
July 29	Hebei	Shijiazhuang	9.3 km	Cai Yalin – medalist shooting champion Li Meisu – medalist in shot put	188[122]
July 30		Qinhuangdao	7 km	Xi Enting – table tennis champion	256[123]
July 31		Tangshan	10.1 km	Qian Hong – gold medalist swimmer	208[124]
August 1 – August 2	Tianjin		12 km	–	225[125]
August 3	Sichuan	Guang'an	7.3 km	Jiang Min – policewoman	189[126]
August 4		Leshan	8.2 km	Gao Min – gold medalist diver	185[127]
August 5		Chengdu	13.2 km	Zhang Shan – gold medalist shooter	315[128]
August 6	Beijing (outside)		16.4 km	Zhang Yimou – film director Bai Yansong – CCTV anchor Yang Liwei – astronaut Liu Qi – president of BOCOG Li Furong – VP of BOCOG Yao Ming – basketball player Song Dandan – actress Liu Chuanzhi – founder of Lenovo Wu Shaozu – former chairperson of Chinese Olympic Committee Lang Lang – pianist Wang Hui – intellectual Yang Yuanqing – Lenovo chairman Jiang Xiaoyu – executive VP of BOCOG JJ Lin – singer Yu Dan – professor Wu Jinglian – economist Li Yongbo – medalist badminton player Dong Jiong – medalist badminton player Winfried Vahland – president of Volkswagen China Song Taishan – Coca Cola Beijing general manager Luo Jing – Newsreporter	433[129][130][131][132]
August 7			14.58 km	Liu Xuan – medalist gymnast Song Zuying – singer Yang Wenjun – gold medalist flatwater canoer Hu Kai – gold medalist sprinter Han Geng - Member of South Korean Boy Band Super Junior	268[132][133]
August 8			–	Feng Gong – xiangsheng performer Xu Zhihong – president of Peking University	-[134]
August 8	Beijing (part of opening ceremony in Beijing National Stadium)		–	Xu Haifeng – gold medalist shooter Gao Min – gold medalist diver Li Xiaoshuang – gold medalist gymnast Zhan Xugang – gold medalist weighlifter Zhang Jun – gold medalist badminton Chen Zhong – gold medalist taekwondo Sun Jinfang – member of team that won China's first major championship in a team sport Li Ning – gold medalist gymnast	-[135]

See also

• 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay

References