2014 Winter Olympics torch relay

Host city	Sochi, Russia
Countries visited	Greece, Russia
Distance	65,000 km
Torch bearers	~15,000
Start date	7 October 2013
End date	7 February 2014

The 2014 Winter Olympics torch relay was run from October 7, 2013, 123 days prior to the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, until February 7, 2014, the day of the opening ceremony at Sochi. In Russia the relay traveled from Moscow to Sochi through 2,900 towns and villages across all 83 federal subjects of Russia by foot, car, train, plane, and troika for over 65,000 km of journey.[1] The event became the longest relay in Winter Olympics history.[2]

Torchbearer in Astrakhan

The lighting ceremony was held on September 29, 2013 at Olympia, Greece with Greek alpine skier Ioannis Antoniou as the first torchbearer.[3] The first Russian torchbearer was NHL star Alex Ovechkin, who received the torch from Antoniou in Olympia.[4]

The Torches

The 2014 Olympic Torches were unveiled on January 14, 2013 in Moscow. The torch is chrome with red detail, a traditional colour of Russian sport. It was designed by a creative team led by Vladimir Pirozhkov and Andrei Vodyanik and weighs nearly 1.8 kg (4.0 lb), is 0.95 m (37 in) tall, 0.145 m (5.7 in) wide, and 0.54 m (21 in) deep.[5]

The torches failed on at least forty-four occasions during the relay,[6] a failure rate of about 3 percent compared to the average 5 percent at the previous Olympics,[7] and on one occasion, a nearby guard helped light the fire again with a lighter.[8] The People's Front (a movement created and led by Vladimir Putin) has called for a criminal investigation into the manufacturer of the torches, a rocket/missile factory.[9]

Special relay

On October 20, 2013, the torches reached the North Pole for first time via a nuclear-powered icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy.[10] On November 6, 2013, the torch was flown into space by Soyuz rocket and brought back on November 11. The torch reached Europe's highest mountain, Mount Elbrus, and the depths of Siberia's Lake Baikal.[11]

Route in Greece

September 29 (day 1)

Olympia, Amaliada, Elis, Pyrgos, Zacharo, Kalo Nero, Tripoli, Levidi, Lefkasi, Kalavryta

September 30 (day 2)

Patras, Rio, Missolonghi, Agrinio, Karpenisi

October 1 (day 3)

Lamia, Volos, Larissa, Katerini

October 2 (day 4)

Thessaloniki, Giannitsa, Naousa, Edessa, Florina, Kastoria

October 3 (day 5)

Grevena, Ioannina, Kalabaka, Trikala

October 4 (day 6)

Karditsa, Lamia, Amfissa, Delphi, Arachova, Livadeia, Athens

Route in Russia

Route	Map
October 7–9 (day 1–3): Moscow October 10 (day 4): Kolomna October 10 (day 4): Odintsovo October 10 (day 4): Arkhangelskoye October 10 (day 4): Krasnogorsk October 10 (day 4): Dmitrov	Moscow Kolomna Odintsovo Krasnogorsk Krasnogorsk Dmitrov Arkhangelskoye
October 11 (day 5): Torzhok October 11 (day 5): Tver October 12 (day 6): Rzhev	Tver Torzhok Rzhev
October 12 (day 6): Smolensk	Smolensk
October 13 (day 7): Yukhnov October 13 (day 7): Kaluga	Kaluga Yukhnov
October 14 (day 8): Yasnaya Polyana October 14 (day 8): Novomoskovsk October 14 (day 8): Tula	Tula Yasnaya Polyana Novomoskovsk
October 15 (day 9): Ryazan	Ryazan
October 16 (day 10): Murom October 16 (day 10): Vladimir October 17 (day 11): Suzdal	Murom Vladimir Suzdal
October 17 (day 11): Ivanovo October 18 (day 12): Plyos	Ivanovo Plyos
October 18 (day 12): Kostroma	Kostroma
October 19 (day 13): Yaroslavl	Yaroslavl
October 20 (day 14): Vologda	Vologda
October 21 (day 15): Not travelling, staying in Vologda
October 22 (day 16): Kizhi October 22 (day 16): Petrozavodsk October 23 (day 17): Pryazha October 23 (day 17): Olonets	Kizhi Petrozavodsk Pryazha Olonets
October 24 (day 18): Veliky Novgorod	Veliky Novgorod
October 25 (day 19): Izborsk October 25 (day 19): Pskov	Izborsk Pskov
October 26 (day 20): Gatchina	Gatchina
October 27 (day 21): Saint Petersburg October 28 (day 22): Kronstadt October 28 (day 22): Lomonosov October 28 (day 22): Petergof October 28 (day 22): Pushkin	Saint Petersburg Kronstadt Lomonosov Petergof Pushkin
October 29 (day 23): Svetlogorsk October 29 (day 23): Kaliningrad	Svetlogorsk Kaliningrad
October 30 (day 24): Murmansk	Murmansk
October 31 (day 25): Not travelling, staying in Murmansk
November 1 (day 26): Severodvinsk November 1 (day 26): Arkhangelsk	Severodvinsk Arkhangelsk
November 2 (day 27): Syktyvkar	Syktyvkar
November 3 (day 28): Naryan-Mar	Naryan-Mar
November 4 (day 29): Novy Urengoy November 4 (day 29): Salekhard	Novy Urengoy Salekhard
November 5 (day 30): Nefteyugansk November 6 (day 31): Khanty-Mansiysk	Nefteyugansk Khanty-Mansiysk
November 7 (day 32): Norilsk	Norilsk
November 8 (day 33): Mirny November 9 (day 34): Yakutsk	Mirny Yakutsk
November 10 (day 35): Magadan	Magadan
November 11 (day 36): Not travelling, staying in Magadan
November 12 (day 37): Anadyr	Anadyr
November 12 (day 37):Yelizovo November 13 (day 38):Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky	Yelizovo Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
November 14 (day 39): Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk	Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
November 15–16 (day 40–41): Vladivostok	Vladivostok
November 17 (day 42): Khabarovsk	Khabarovsk
November 18 (day 43): Birobidzhan	Birobidzhan
November 19 (day 44): Belogorsk November 19 (day 44): Blagoveshchensk	Belogorsk
November 20 (day 45): Not travelling, staying in Blagoveshchensk
November 21 (day 46): Chita	Chita
November 22 (day 47): Ulan-Ude	Ulan-Ude
November 23 (day 48): Listvyanka (Lake Baikal) November 24 (day 49): Irkutsk	Listvyanka Lake Baikal Irkutsk
November 25 (day 50): Divnogorsk November 26 (day 51): Krasnoyarsk	Divnogorsk Krasnoyarsk
November 27 (day 52): Abakan	Abakan
November 28 (day 53): Kyzyl	Kyzyl
November 29 (day 54): Kedrovskiy coal mine November 30 (day 55): Kemerovo	Kedrovskiy coal mine Kemerovo
December 1 (day 56): Tomsk	Tomsk
December 2 (day 57): Gorno-Altaysk	Gorno-Altaysk
December 3 (day 58): Barnaul	Barnaul
December 4–5 (day 59–60): Not travelling, staying in Barnaul
December 6–7 (day 61–62): Novosibirsk December 8 (day 63): Kuybyshev December 8 (day 63): Barabinsk	Novosibirsk Kuybyshev Barabinsk
December 8 (day 63): Kalachinsk December 9 (day 64): Omsk	Kalachinsk Omsk
December 10 (day 65): Not travelling, staying in Omsk
December 11 (day 66): Tyumen December 12 (day 67): Tobolsk	Tyumen Tobolsk
December 13–14 (day 68–69): Yekaterinburg December 13 (day 68): Nizhny Tagil December 15 (day 70): Kamensk-Uralsky	Nizhny Tagil Yekaterinburg Kamensk-Uralsky
December 15 (day 70): Kurgan December 16 (day 71): Shadrinsk	Kurgan Shadrinsk
December 16–17 (day 71–72): Chelyabinsk December 18 (day 73): Magnitogorsk	Chelyabinsk Magnitogorsk
December 19 (day 74): Not travelling, staying in Magnitogorsk
December 20–21 (day 75–76): Ufa	Ufa
December 22 (day 77): Orenburg	Orenburg
December 23 (day 78): Not travelling, staying in Orenburg
December 24 (day 79): Syzran December 24 (day 79): Tolyatti December 25 (day 80): Samara	Syzran Tolyatti Samara
December 26 (day 81): Ulyanovsk	Ulyanovsk
December 27 (day 82): Cheboksary	Cheboksary
December 28 (day 83): Yoshkar-Ola	Yoshkar-Ola
December 29 (day 84): Not travelling, staying in Yoshkar-Ola
December 30 (day 85): Sviyazhsk December 30–31 (day 85–86): Kazan	Sviyazhsk Kazan
January 1 (day 87): Not travelling, staying in Kazan
January 2 (day 88): Izhevsk	Izhevsk
January 3 (day 89): Kungur January 3–4 (day 89–90): Perm	Kungur Perm
January 5 (day 91): Kirov	Kirov
January 6 (day 92): Not travelling, staying in Kirov
January 7–8 (day 93–94): Nizhny Novgorod	Nizhny Novgorod
January 9 (day 95): Saransk	Saransk
January 10 (day 96): Penza	Penza
January 11 (day 97): Saratov	Saratov
January 12 (day 98): Tambov January 13 (day 99): Michurinsk	Tambov Michurinsk
January 13 (day 99): Lipetsk January 14 (day 100): Yelets	Lipetsk Yelets
January 14 (day 100): Oryol	Oryol
January 15 (day 101): Bryansk	Bryansk
January 16 (day 102): Kursk	Kursk
January 17 (day 103): Belgorod	Belgorod
January 18 (day 104): Voronezh	Voronezh
January 19 (day 105): Uryupinsk January 20 (day 106): Volgograd	Uryupinsk Volgograd
January 21 (day 107): Novocherkassk January 21 (day 107): Shakhty January 22 (day 108): Rostov-on-Don	Novocherkassk Shakhty Rostov-on-Don
January 23 (day 109): Pyatigorsk January 24 (day 110): Stavropol	Pyatigorsk Stavropol
January 25 (day 111): Elista January 25 (day 111): Yashkulsky	Elista Yashkulsky
January 26 (day 112): Astrakhan	Astrakhan
January 27 (day 113): Makhachkala	Makhachkala
January 27 (day 113): Cherkessk	Cherkessk
January 28 (day 114): Grozny	Grozny
January 28 (day 114): Magas January 28 (day 114): Nazran	Magas Nazran
January 29 (day 115): Not travelling, staying in Nazran
January 30 (day 116): Vladikavkaz	Vladikavkaz
January 30 (day 116): Nalchik February 1 (day 118): Mount Elbrus	Nalchik Mount Elbrus
February 2 (day 119): Not travelling, staying in Mount Elbrus
February 3 (day 120): Maykop	Maykop
February 4 (day 121): Krasnodar February 5–7 (day 122–124): Sochi	Krasnodar Sochi

Protests

Gay activist Pavel Lebedev (not to be confused with a Russian retired figure skater Pavel Lebedev) was arrested at the relay in Voronezh for unveiling a rainbow flag. When interviewed he said "hosting the games here contradicts the basic principles of the Olympics, which is to cultivate tolerance".[12]

References

"Russia unveils torch relay route of 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics". English.news.cn. October 8, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
"Sochi 2014 Torch Relay to be longest in Winter Games history". Olympic.org. October 8, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
"First Torchbearer announced for Sochi 2014 Torch Relay". Olympic.org. September 20, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
"Alex Ovechkin excited to carry torch". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 29, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
"Sochi 2014 torch unveiled". Olympic.org. January 14, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
Главу завода по изготовлению олимпийских факелов уволят, если они "то потухнут, то погаснут" 300 раз. NEWSru.com (in Russian). November 1, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
"The magic of Russian Olympic torches". Pravda.ru. October 30, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
Lally, Kathy (October 7, 2013). "Russia's Olympic torch flames out, again". The Washington Post. Washington DC.
К концу второго дня эстафеты олимпийского огня в Москве ОНФ просит СКР разобраться с тухнущими факелами. NewsRU.Com (in Russian). October 8, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
Zaccardi, Nick (October 20, 2013). "Sochi Olympic torch relay reaches North Pole". NBC OlympicTalk. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
de Carbonnel, Alissa (November 6, 2013). "Russian Soyuz rocket flies Olympic torch to space station". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
"Gay Russian protester detained at Olympic relay for rainbow flag". Fox Sports. January 18, 2014. Archived from the original on January 22, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2014.

External links

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[1] "Russia unveils torch relay route of 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics". English.news.cn. October 8, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2013.

[2] "Sochi 2014 Torch Relay to be longest in Winter Games history". Olympic.org. October 8, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2013.

[3] "First Torchbearer announced for Sochi 2014 Torch Relay". Olympic.org. September 20, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.

[4] "Alex Ovechkin excited to carry torch". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 29, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.

[5] "Sochi 2014 torch unveiled". Olympic.org. January 14, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2013.

[6] Главу завода по изготовлению олимпийских факелов уволят, если они "то потухнут, то погаснут" 300 раз. NEWSru.com (in Russian). November 1, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2013.

[7] "The magic of Russian Olympic torches". Pravda.ru. October 30, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2014.

[8] Lally, Kathy (October 7, 2013). "Russia's Olympic torch flames out, again". The Washington Post. Washington DC.

[9] К концу второго дня эстафеты олимпийского огня в Москве ОНФ просит СКР разобраться с тухнущими факелами. NewsRU.Com (in Russian). October 8, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2013.

[10] Zaccardi, Nick (October 20, 2013). "Sochi Olympic torch relay reaches North Pole". NBC OlympicTalk. Retrieved November 7, 2013.

[11] Carbonnel, Alissa (November 6, 2013). "Russian Soyuz rocket flies Olympic torch to space station". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 7, 2013.

[12] "Gay Russian protester detained at Olympic relay for rainbow flag". Fox Sports. January 18, 2014. Archived from the original on January 22, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2014.