baron-pierreIV Posted October 10, 2013 Report Posted October 10, 2013 1. I think a good idea for 2016 would be to see the flame go direct Athens-Mexcio City, site of the last Latin American Olympics, then move south from Mexico, visiting as many Central and South American countries as possible. 2. As for Russia - I realise my accusations on insecurity was probably an overstep in terms of the countries size, but in terms of other aspects of these Olympics, its a relevant observation. 1. Nope. In view of 2008, the IOC precisely cut down on all those foreign stops. It just becomes too much of a roadshow and means jacksh*t to the other countries anyway. 2. Russia went a little crazy. I mean the Torch Run for Montreal (the 2nd largest nation on the planet) lasted only 5 days. I think Lake Placid '80 lasted only a week or so (only 52 runners), so why do they have to do 65,000km and 14,000 runners? Why not say, just the 8 largest cities? It's just a continuing game of oneupsmanship--that's all.
Ikarus360 Posted October 10, 2013 Report Posted October 10, 2013 ^^ Not mentioning they want to avoid something like the disastrous international leg of the Beijing 2008 torch relay (which was almost complety marred by protests against PRC) to ever happen again. It was cool for Athens but after that it became kinda stupid to repeat it.
Olympian2004 Posted October 10, 2013 Report Posted October 10, 2013 ^^ Not mentioning they want to avoid something like the disastrous international leg of the Beijing 2008 torch relay (which was almost complety marred by protests against PRC) to ever happen again. It was cool for Athens but after that it became kinda stupid to repeat it. True. And that's why, for a change, I'm glad this time around that they don't stage international torch relay segments anymore (at least not on a larger scale - as could be seen in the one day stopover of London's torch in Ireland). Sochi's relay certainly would have seen protests as well - and it still could see some in Russia itself.
FYI Posted October 10, 2013 Report Posted October 10, 2013 In a way, I'm actually disappointed that there won't be an international torch relay for Sochi 2014. It would've been refreshing to see the big protests, ala Beijing's 2008, against oppressive Russia & their backwards "new law" in the truly progressive countries.
ofan Posted October 10, 2013 Report Posted October 10, 2013 The last couple of relays have included a one day stop over in the neighbouring country. (USA in 2010 and Ireland in 2012)
yoshi Posted October 10, 2013 Report Posted October 10, 2013 I didn't know Vancouver took it down south. Where did they go, Seattle I guess?
Victor Mata Posted October 10, 2013 Report Posted October 10, 2013 In a way, I'm actually disappointed that there won't be an international torch relay for Sochi 2014. It would've been refreshing to see the big protests, ala Beijing's 2008, against oppressive Russia & their backwards "new law" in the truly progressive countries. Anything could and would attract protesters these days, including international policies, large corporations in and around hosting cities and the environmental footprint of an Olympic Games. Even Vancouver's relay had minor disturbances. An international torch relay of countries like the US, the UK, Japan and others would be a magnet of activism.
ofan Posted October 10, 2013 Report Posted October 10, 2013 I didn't know Vancouver took it down south. Where did they go, Seattle I guess? Peach arch in Washington.
baron-pierreIV Posted October 10, 2013 Report Posted October 10, 2013 Peach arch in Washington. There is a "PeacH arch" in Georgia...not Washington.
ofan Posted October 10, 2013 Report Posted October 10, 2013 There is a "PeacH arch" in Georgia...not Washington. Looooooool you know what I mean.
mattperiolat Posted October 15, 2013 Report Posted October 15, 2013 I didn't know Vancouver took it down south. Where did they go, Seattle I guess? I recall a pass down by Niagra Falls where they may have passed over the border. But I do not have my notes here so, I dunno.
gotosy Posted October 15, 2013 Report Posted October 15, 2013 Olympic Torch Sets Off for Arctic Before Space Trip MURMANSK/STAR CITY, October 15 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian expedition carrying a Sochi 2014 Olympic torch set off Tuesday for the North Pole, while Russian cosmonauts prepare to take a modified Olympic torch into space next month. The Olympic torch was delivered Tuesday to Russia’s NS 50 Years of Victory vessel, the largest nuclear-powered icebreaker in the world, in a ceremony in Russia’s Arctic port city of Murmansk. The icebreaker is set to cover a distance of over 5,000 km (over 3,100 miles) during an estimated period of 15 days and then the Olympic torch will be used to light a bowl at the northernmost point on Earth. Arthur Chilingarov, a Russian polar explorer and vice president of the Russian Geographical Society, said at the Murmansk ceremony that it would be the first time the Olympic torch had traveled to “the top of the world,” where “the concept of time loses its meaning.” “I believe it is extremely symbolic to light the Olympic torch there, since Olympic values have remained unchanged for centuries,” said Chilingarov, who will be among 11 torchbearers during the torch’s journey across the Arctic. The Arctic journey is not part of the 123-day torch relay itself, just like the scheduled trip of an adjusted Olympic torch to the International Space Station next month. Sergei Krikalev, head of the Cosmonauts' Training Center outside Moscow, said earlier Tuesday that an unlit torch with an extra tether attached would be carried into open space next month by cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergei Ryazansky, during which time it will orbit the Earth several times. He said Russian engineers had tweaked the design of the torch to prevent it from slipping out of the cosmonauts’ grip during the photo-op spacewalk. “The Olympic torch for space is just like the one for the Earth, but there will be no gas in it,” he said. "To take it into open space the object was reworked: An extra fixing element has been added to attach a tether to, just so it doesn't fly away," Krikalev added. After the torch returns to Earth on November 11 it will be taken to the Olympic host city of Sochi and used to light the cauldron at the opening ceremony on February 7. The actual torch relay began on Red Square on October 7 and on Tuesday reached the city of Ryazan as part of its 65,000-kilometer (41,450 mile) journey. http://en.ria.ru/sochi2014/20131015/184162859/Sochi-Olympic-Torch-Tweaked-for-Space-Trip-.html
gotosy Posted October 20, 2013 Report Posted October 20, 2013 YAROSLAVL, Russia, October 19 (R-Sport) - Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, lit the Olympic cauldron on Saturday in her home city of Yaroslavl to mark the arrival of the Sochi 2014 Winter Games torch relay. ... Tereshkova was first woman to fly in space, piloting the Vostok 6 rocket into the cosmos in June 1963 and spending three days in orbit. It was two years after Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. http://en.ria.ru/sochi2014/20131019/184246224/First-Woman-in-Space-Lights-Olympic-Cauldron-in-Yaroslavl.html
gotosy Posted October 20, 2013 Report Posted October 20, 2013 Sochi Olympic Flame Arrives at North Pole - Official MOSCOW, October 20 (R-Sport) - The Olympic flame for next year's Winter Games in Sochi has arrived at the North Pole, the head of the organizing committee has said. Sending the flame to the North Pole for the first time is one of a series of spectacular journeys running alongside the torch relay - others include sending an unlit torch into space, and taking the flame up Russia's highest mountain. "In spite of everything the flame burned excellently," organizing committee head Dmitry Chernyshenko said on Twitter. "The weather's warm, just -15 [degrees]." The flame was transported to the North Pole on a nuclear-powered icebreaker that left the Russian port of Murmansk on Tuesday. ... http://en.rsport.ru/olympics/20131020/695213814.html
baron-pierreIV Posted October 20, 2013 Report Posted October 20, 2013 Flame carried on a troika belonging to Catherine the Great. http://en.rsport.ru/video/20131019/694949987.html What if the torch accidentally combusts in space...since it's been going out constantly on earth? Will cosmonette Sandra Bullock be there to save the situation??
Rob2012 Posted October 20, 2013 Report Posted October 20, 2013 I was under the impression the torch wouldn't be lit in space
baron-pierreIV Posted October 20, 2013 Report Posted October 20, 2013 I think they will paste a cardboard "flame" to it! Those creative Russians!!
JMarkSnow2012 Posted October 20, 2013 Report Posted October 20, 2013 What if the torch accidentally combusts in space...since it's been going out constantly on earth? Will cosmonette Sandra Bullock be there to save the situation?? Pretty much so, yes. Karen Nyberg, currently on the Space Station, is very resourceful. Recently, she's been working on a remake of the classic "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship":
baron-pierreIV Posted October 20, 2013 Report Posted October 20, 2013 Santa Claus banned from wearing his traditional "red" outfit in his part of the Torch Relay. A new blue costume had to be specially created .... http://www.itar-tass.com/c710/917168.html http://www.itar-tass.com/c710/918966.html It's Official! Russia has morphed from a Red state into a Blue State. She'll be ready for the 2016 elections. (Jmark, funny, I have a friend named Sharen Nyberg whose van I just helped sell. but I digress...)
Agger Posted October 22, 2013 Report Posted October 22, 2013 Santa Claus banned from wearing his traditional "red" outfit in his part of the Torch Relay. A new blue costume had to be specially created .... http://www.itar-tass.com/c710/917168.html http://www.itar-tass.com/c710/918966.html It's Official! Russia has morphed from a Red state into a Blue State. She'll be ready for the 2016 elections. (Jmark, funny, I have a friend named Sharen Nyberg whose van I just helped sell. but I digress...) I wonder. What does Coca Cola think about that?
gotosy Posted October 22, 2013 Report Posted October 22, 2013 Sochi-2014 Official Denies Girl Was Burned by Olympic Torch (Video) 22 October 2013 | Issue 5240 The Moscow Times The head of the Sochi-2014 organizing committee on Tuesday rejected media reports that a 13-year-old girl was burned by a faulty Olympic torch in Kostroma during the relay. A video published Monday on YouTube shows a group of people wearing Sochi-2014 tracksuits struggling with a flaming instrument. The video was named "Exploded Olympic Torch" and the caption says that the incident took place on Friday in Kostroma, 330 kilometers northeast of Moscow. Local media reported that a torch had exploded while it was being handed to the girl by the previous torchbearer. The girl supposedly received minor burns, but was able to complete her stage of the relay. The 'Exploded Olympic torch' video reportedly showing people struggling with an Olympic torch. (YouTube / LawlessnessSTOP) But organizing committee president Dmitry Chernyshenko said that the media reports were untrue and that no one was burned. "The '13-year-old girl' was actually an adult from the legal branch of the Sochi-2014 organizing committee," Chernyshenko told RIA Novosti. During the incident there was a powerful flame, but it was quickly extinguished before a replacement was provided, allowing the relay to get back under way, he said. The relay was marred by an embarrassing incident in Moscow earlier this month after the torch being carried by Shavarsh Karapetyan, a former swimming champion, went out and had to be relit by a bystander with a cigarette lighter. Read more: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/sochi-2014-official-denies-girl-was-burned-by-olympic-torch-video/488307.html#ixzz2iTJVaG82 The Moscow Times
yoshi Posted October 22, 2013 Report Posted October 22, 2013 In Putin's Russia, Olympic torches light you!
Olympian2004 Posted October 22, 2013 Report Posted October 22, 2013 An exploding torch must be another Olympic first.
baron-pierreIV Posted October 22, 2013 Report Posted October 22, 2013 An exploding torch must be another Olympic first. The design and mechanics of that torch must be so faulty, it results in all these little mishaps.
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