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
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
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
Troika or troyka (from Russian тройка, meaning 'a set of three') may refer to:
Cultural tradition
* Troika (driving), a traditional Russian harness driving combination, a cultural icon of Russia
* Troika (dance), a Russian folk dance
Pol ...
'' for over 65,000 km of journey. The event became the longest relay in Winter Olympics history.
The lighting ceremony was held on September 29, 2013 at
Olympia, Greece with Greek alpine skier
Ioannis Antoniou as the relay originating torchbearer. The first Russian torchbearer was
NHL star
Alex Ovechkin, who received the torch from Antoniou in Olympia.
The Torches
The 2014 Olympic Torches were unveiled on January 14, 2013 in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
. 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 , is tall, wide, and deep.
The torches failed on at least forty-four occasions during the relay, a failure rate of about 3 percent compared to the average 5 percent at the previous Olympics, and on one occasion, a nearby guard helped light the fire again with a lighter. The
People's Front (a movement created and led by
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
) has called for a criminal investigation into the manufacturer of the torches, a rocket/missile factory.
Special relay
On October 20, 2013, the torches reached the
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...
for first time via a
nuclear-powered icebreaker ''
50 Let Pobedy
''50 Let Pobedy'' (russian: 50 лет Победы; "50 Years of Victory", referring to the anniversary of victory of the Soviet Union in World War II) is a Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker.
History
Construction on project no. 10521 started ...
''. 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.
Route in Greece
September 29 (day 1)
*
Olympia,
Amaliada,
Elis
Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...
,
Pyrgos,
Zacharo
Zacharo ( el, Ζαχάρω) is a town and municipality in western Peloponnese, Greece. Administratively, it belongs to the regional unit of Elis in West Greece. Zacharo is situated on the coast of the Gulf of Kyparissia, a part of the Ionian Sea. ...
,
Kalo Nero
Kalo Nero or Kalonero ( el, Καλό Νερό or Καλόνερο meaning "good water") is a village and a community of the Trifylia municipality, Messenia, southern Greece. The population of the entire community is 686 (2011 census), the main vi ...
,
Tripoli,
Levidi,
Lefkasi,
Kalavryta
Kalavryta ( el, Καλάβρυτα) is a town and a municipality in the mountainous east-central part of the regional unit of Achaea, Greece. The town is located on the right bank of the river Vouraikos, south of Aigio, southeast of Patras and ...
September 30 (day 2)
*
Patras,
Rio,
Missolonghi,
Agrinio
Agrinio ( Greek: Αγρίνιο, , Latin: ''Agrinium'') is the largest city of the Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit of Greece and its largest municipality, with 106,053 inhabitants. It is the economical center of Aetolia-Acarnania, although its c ...
,
Karpenisi
October 1 (day 3)
*
Lamia
LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación''), was a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as an EcoJet subsidiary. It had its origins from the failed ...
,
Volos
Volos ( el, Βόλος ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the sixth most populous city of Greece, and the capital of the Magnesia regional unit ...
,
Larissa,
Katerini
Katerini ( el, Κατερίνη, ''Kateríni'', ) is a city and municipality in northern Greece, the capital city of Pieria regional unit in Central Macedonia, Greece. It lies on the Pierian plain, between Mt. Olympus and the Thermaikos Gulf, ...
October 2 (day 4)
*
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
,
Giannitsa
Giannitsa ( el, Γιαννιτσά , in English also Yannitsa, Yenitsa) is the largest city in the regional unit of Pella and the capital of the Pella municipality, in the region of Central Macedonia in northern Greece.
The municipal unit Gian ...
,
Naousa,
Edessa,
Florina
Florina ( el, Φλώρινα, ''Flórina''; known also by some alternative names) is a town and municipality in the mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'.
The town of Florina is the capital of the F ...
,
Kastoria
Kastoria ( el, Καστοριά, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria regional unit, in the geographic region of Macedonia. It is situated on a promontory on the weste ...
October 3 (day 5)
*
Grevena
Grevena ( el, Γρεβενά, ''Grevená'', , rup, Grebini) is a town and municipality in Western Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the Grevena regional unit. The town's current population is 13,374 citizens (2011). It lies about from Ath ...
,
Ioannina,
Kalabaka
Kalabaka ( el, Καλαμπάκα, ''Kalabáka'', alternative transliterations are ''Kalambaka'' and ''Kalampaka'') is a town and seat of the municipality of Meteora in the Trikala regional unit, part of Thessaly in Greece. The population was ...
,
Trikala
Trikala ( el, Τρίκαλα; rup, Trikolj) is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece, and the capital of the Trikala regional unit. The city straddles the Lithaios river, which is a tributary of Pineios. According to the Greek National Stati ...
October 4 (day 6)
*
Karditsa, Lamia,
Amfissa,
Delphi,
Arachova
Arachova ( el, Αράχωβα, also Αράχοβα) is a mountain town and a former municipality in the western part of Boeotia. Since the 2011 local government reform it is a municipal unit, part of the municipality Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra. ...
,
Livadeia,
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
Route in Russia
Protests
Gay activist Pavel Lebedev (not to be confused with a Russian retired figure skater
Pavel Lebedev) was arrested at the relay in
Voronezh
Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...
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".
References
External links
Official websiteCoca-Cola torch relay
{{Use mdy dates, date=February 2014
torch relay
Olympic torch relays
Articles containing video clips