Today is the last day of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay.

I had the pleasure seeing the torch up close and being passed on right in front of me, along side so many Vancouverites and Olympic fans..

“The Olympic Flame has a sacred history and symbolizes the principles of peace, brotherhood and friendship,” notes VANOC (the Vancouver Olympics Committee), and is “a 45,000 kilometre journey across Canada that will unify the country and build excitement for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.”

According to VANOC, the Vancouver 2010 Olympics torch relay is “the longest in history to be contained within the Host Country.”

Vancouver 2010 Olympics Torch Relay Statistics

Some interesting statistics, provided by VANOC in a media kit released in October, 2010.

• 106 days long (October 30, 2009 – February 12, 2010)
• 187 community celebrations
• 1020 communities and places of interest, including
  • 115 Aboriginal communities
  • 20 places of interest
  • 14 Canadian Forces Bases and Canadian Forces Stations
• 90% of Canada’s 32 million population (about 29 million) will be within one hour’s drive of the relay route
• 12,000 – number of torchbearers
• 45,000 – total kilometres traveled across the country
  • 18,000 – total kilometres by air
  • 1,000 – total kilometres by water
  • 26,000 – total kilometres by land
  • 100 – approximate number of different modes of transportation used along the way

The sheer length of the relay within the host country (with no international legs included) is what has distinguished it from previous Olympic torch relays.

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