2008 Summer Olympics torch relay route
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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 regions 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 authorities and mainland 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]
Route in Greece
March 24
March 28
March 30
International and HK&Macau route
| International torch relay route
| |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 (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[5] | 80 | |||
| April 3 |  Turkey (Istanbul)(start) Sultanahmet Square (finish) Taksim Square | 20 km | Tuğba Karademir – figure skater Taner Sağır – champion weightlifter[6] | 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[clarification needed] Valentina Tereshkova – astronaut Alisa Freindlich – actress Andrei Arshavin – football player[7] | 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[8] | 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[9] | ||||
| April 9 |  United States (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[10] 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[11] | 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[12] | 65 | ||||
| April 17 |  India (New Delhi)(start) Raisina Hill (finish) India Gate | 2.3 km | Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Abhinav Bindra – sport shooter[13] Aamir Khan – actor, director | around 70 | |||
| April 19 |  Thailand (Bangkok)(start) Yaowarat Road in Bangkok's Chinatown (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 [14] | 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[15] | 80 | |||
| April 22 |  Indonesia (Jakarta) | 7 km; originally 20 km | Taufik Hidayat, Susi Susanti, Alan Budikusuma – badminton player[16] Fauzi Bowo – governor of Jakarta[17] | 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[18] | 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[19] |
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 judoka Ahn Hyun-soo – gold medalist speed skater Nam Eun-young – gold medalist in handball Kim Soo-nyung – gold medalist archer[20] Bada – singer and musical actress Jang Na-ra – singer and actress | 70+ | |||
| April 28 |  North Korea (Pyongyang)(start) Tower of Juche Idea (finish) Kim Il Sung Stadium | 20 km | Pak Doo-ik – football player | 80 | |||
| April 29 |  Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City)(start) Opera House (finish) Military Zone 7 Competition Hall | 10 km | 60 | ||||
The opening relay route ceremony was held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.[21] 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.[22][23]
Hong Kong and Macau gallery
Torch relay route map
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
Route in mainland China
Mainland China torch relay route
.png) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | China Province / City |
Length | Notable torchbearers | # of torchbearers | |
| May 4 | Hainan | Sanya | 30.09[25] | 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[26] | 208[25] |
| 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[27] |
| May 8 | Shenzhen | 40 km | Xiao Jinfeng – gold medalist gymnast Wang Shi (王石) – head of China Vanke[28] | – | |
| May 8 | Mt Everest Summit | – | – | – | |
| May 9 | Guangdong | Huizhou | – | Liang Wenbo – snooker player[29] | – |
| May 10 | Shantou | – | Sun Shuwei – gold medalist diver Xu Yinchuan – international master of Chinese chess[30] | 208 | |
| May 11 | Fujian | Fuzhou | – | Zheng Meizhu – gold medalist volleyball player[31] Hou Yuzhu – gold medalist volleyball player[32] 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[32] | 208 |
| May 12 | Quanzhou | 20.35 km | – | 108[33] | |
| May 12 | Xiamen | 17.4 km | Guo Yuehua – winner of 8 consecutive titles for table tennis Ji Xinpeng – gold medalist badminton player[34] | 100 | |
| May 13 | Longyan | 30.5 km | Zhang Xiangxiang – bronze medalist weightlifter Shi Zhiyong – gold medalist weightlifter Chen Hong – badminton player[35] | 208 | |
| May 14 | Jiangxi | Ruijin | 15 km | – | 208[36] |
| May 15 | Jinggangshan | 14.5 km | – | [37] | |
| May 16 | Nanchang | – | Peng Bo – gold medalist diver | ||
| May 17 | Zhejiang | Wenzhou | – | – | 108[38] |
| May 17 | Shaoxing | – | – | 100[39] | |
| May 18 | Hangzhou | – | Li Lingwei – badminton champion[40] | 208[41] | |
| May 19 – 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 – 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[42] Sun Wen – football (soccer) player Chen Lu – world champion figure skater Zhu Jianhua – medalist high jumper[43] Lee Kaifu – founder of Google China[44] Cao Yanhua – table tennis champion | 416 (including 44 foreign nationals) | |
| May 25 | Jiangsu | Suzhou | 17 km | – | 104[45] |
| May 25 | Nantong | 20 km | – | 104[46] | |
| May 26 | Taizhou | 12.8 km | – | 104[47] | |
| May 26 | Yangzhou | 11 km | – | 104[48] | |
| May 27 | Nanjing | 12.9 km | Yang Yang – badminton player Chen Peisi – actor Gao Yuanyuan – actress | 208[49] | |
| May 28 | Anhui | Hefei | – | Fan Xueping – wushu champion Jiang Xiaoyu (蒋效愚) – executive VP of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games | [50] |
| May 29 | Huainan | – | Zhou Tao – TV presenter Zhang Yan (张燕) – singer | 100 | |
| May 29 | Wuhu | – | Vicki Zhao – actress and singer | 100[51] | |
| May 30 | Jixi | – | Ding Junhui – snooker player | 80[52] | |
| May 30 | Huangshan | – | Ye Qiaobo – speed skating champ | 120[53] | |
| May 31 | Hubei | Wuhan | 20.7 km | Li Xiaoshuang – gold medalist gymnast[54] | |
| June 1 | Yichang | 10 km | Li Ting – gold medalist tennis player Karen Mok – singer[55] | 208[56] | |
| June 2 | Jingzhou | 18.6 km | Zeng Li (曾黎) – actress | 208[57] | |
| June 3 | Hunan | Yueyang | 16.9 km | – | [58] |
| June 4 | Changsha | – | Zhong Zhihua – head of Hunan University Xiong Ni – 3-time gold medalist diver[59] | 208 | |
| June 5 | Shaoshan | 79.1 km | 208[60] | ||
| June 6 | Guangxi | Guilin | – | Xiao Jiangang – weightlifting champion Tang Lingsheng – gold medalist weightlifter[61] | |
| June 7 | Nanning | 16.5 km | Chen Wenzhong – olympic sprinter Mo Huilan – gymnast | [62] | |
| June 8 | Baise | – | – | [63] | |
| June 9 | Yunnan | Kunming | 8.3 km | Angela Chang – Taiwanese singer and actress | 208[64] |
| June 10 | Lijiang | 26 km | – | -[65] | |
| June 11 | Xamgyi'nyilha | 40.36 km | Zhang Guowei – track & field[66] | – | |
| June 12 | Guizhou | Guiyang | 16.9 km | – | 208[67] |
| June 13 | Kaili | 19.3 km | – | 208[68] | |
| June 14 | Zunyi | 6.3 km | – | 208[69] | |
| June 15 – 16 | Chongqing | – | 17 km | Gu Li – Go champion | 208[70] |
| June 17 | Xinjiang | Ürümqi | 12.5 km | Wang Yanhong – gold medalist archer Abuduxikeer Mijiti – boxing champion | 208[71] |
| June 18 | Kashi | 7.43 km | – | 208[72] | |
| June 19 | Shihezi | – | – | -[73] | |
| June 19 | Changji | 4.4 km | – | 104[74] | |
| June 21 | Tibet | Lhasa | 11 km[75] | Cedai Drolma – singer[76] | 156[77] |
| June 22 | Qinghai | Golmud | 7.5 km | – | -[78] |
| June 23 | Qinghai Lake | 6 km | – | 162[79] | |
| June 24 | Xining | – | Li Chunxiu – medalist racewalker | -[80] | |
| June 25 | Shanxi | Yuncheng | 9.8 km | Lu Shuming – actor
Zhang Weihong – medalist handball player |
104[81] |
| June 25 | Pingyao | – | – | [82] | |
| June 26 | Taiyuan | 39 km | Yan Weiwen – singer Tan Jing – singer Robin Li – CEO of Baidu | 208[83] | |
| June 27 | Datong | 4 km | – | 208[84] | |
| June 28 | Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center | 22 | Fei Junlong, Nie Haisheng – crew of Shenzhou spacecraft 6[85] | – | |
| June 29 | Ningxia | Zhongwei | 3.3 km | – | -[86] |
| June 30 | Wuzhong | 5.6 km | – | 193[87] | |
| July 1 | Yinchuan | – | – | -[88] | |
| July 2 | Shaanxi | Yan'an | 6.31 km | – | 208[89] |
| July 3 | Yangling | 6.53 km | – | 95[90] | |
| July 3 | Xianyang | 6.9 km | – | 113[91] | |
| July 4 | Xi'an | – | Tian Liang – gold medalist diver | 200[92] | |
| July 5 | Gansu | Dunhuang | 7.6 km | Fan Jinshi – director of Dunhuang Research Institute | 120[93] |
| July 6 | Jiayuguan | 13.8 km | – | 208[94] | |
| July 7 | Lanzhou | – | – | -[95] | |
| July 8 | Inner Mongolia | Hohhot | 6.2 km | Mengke Bateer – pro basketball player Pan Gang – president of Yili group[96] | 208[97] |
| July 9 | Ordos | 6.3 km | – | 104[98] | |
| July 9 | Baotou | – | – | 104[99] | |
| July 10 | Chifeng | 6.2 km | Siqingaowa – actress | 208[100] | |
| 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[101] |
| July 12 | Daqing | 7.6 km | – | 208[102] | |
| July 13 | Qiqihar | 7.5 km | – | 208[103] | |
| July 14 | Jilin | Changchun | 9 km | Wang Chunlu – silver medalist short track skater | 218[104] |
| July 15 | Songyuan | – | – | 110[105] | |
| July 15 | Jilin City | 7.7 km | Wang Chunli – medalist skater | 108[106] | |
| July 16 | Yanji | – | Xie Jun – chess champion | -[107] | |
| 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[108] |
| July 18 | Anshan | 7.3 km | Wang Yifu – gold medalist shooter | 175[109] | |
| July 19 | Dalian | – | [110] | ||
| July 21 | Shandong | Qingdao | 14.5 km | Zhang Xiaodong – medalist windsurfer | 259[111] |
| July 21 | Linyi | 5.6 km | – | 109[112] | |
| July 22 | Qufu | 5.1 km | – | 100[113] | |
| July 22 | Tai'an | – | Bi Wenjing – uneven bars athlete Xing Aowei – gymnast | 120[114] | |
| July 23 | Jinan | 13.5 km | Xing Huina – gold medalist track & field Lin Weining – weightlifter Wu Minxia – gold medalist diver Qiao Yunping – table tennis champion Guo Jingjing – gold medalist diver | 243[115] | |
| July 25 | Henan | Zhengzhou | 7.6 km | 208[116] | |
| 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[117] | |
| July 27 | Luoyang | 6.9 km | – | 208[118] | |
| July 28 | Anyang | 5.9 km | – | 208[119] | |
| July 29 | Hebei | Shijiazhuang | 9.3 km | Cai Yalin – medalist shooting champion Li Meisu – medalist in shot put | 188[120] |
| July 30 | Qinhuangdao | 7 km | Xi Enting – table tennis champion | 256[121] | |
| July 31 | Tangshan | 10.1 km | Qian Hong – gold medalist swimmer | 208[122] | |
| August 1 – 2 | Tianjin | 12 km | – | 225[123] | |
| August 3 | Sichuan | Guang'an | 7.3 km | Jiang Min – policewoman | 189[124] |
| August 4 | Leshan | 8.2 km | Gao Min – gold medalist diver | 185[125] | |
| August 5 | Chengdu | 13.2 km | Zhang Shan – gold medalist shooter | 315[126] | |
| August 6 | Beijing (outside) | 16.4 km | Zhang Yimou – film director Bai Yansong – CCTV anchor Yang Liwei – astronaut Liu Qi – president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games 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[127][128][129][130] | |
| 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[130][131] | ||
| August 8 | – | Feng Gong – xiangsheng performer Xu Zhihong – president of Peking University | -[132] | ||
| 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 weightlifter 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 | -[133] | |
The total torchbearer counts for each city are available at the official website of the torch relay. The relay was suspended from May 19 – 21 to honor victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.