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By Bev Boyle

The 2010 Olympic Torch Relay begins in British Columbia on October 30, 2009 and ends at the Opening Ceremony signaling the start of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games on February 12, 2010. The torch relay will land in 100 Mile House on Day 91, January 28, 2010.

(Photo: Premier Gordon Campbell took part in the historic torch lighting ceremony in Greece. The ceremony is steeped in Greek tradition, with the high priestess harnessing the power of the sun to light the flame.)

On it's way across the country, over 1000 communities and places of interest will be visited by the torchbearers. There will be close to 200 celebrations hosted by communities in every province and territory and approximately 90 per cent of Canada’s population will be within a one-hour drive of experiencing the Olympic Flame.

Over 45,000 kilometres will be traveled, including an extensive tour of the North, including Alert and Nunavut, the northernmost permanently inhabited community in the world.

12,000 people will have the honour of being an Olympic Torchbearer and will help carry the flame to Vancouver.

A fascinating explanation of the lighting ceremony follows:

The Lighting Ceremony

As the world turns its attention to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the longest domestic Olympic Torch Relay in history began on October 22, 2009 with a traditional ritual lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece.

Olympia is the home of the Olympic Flame, the sanctuary of Zeus (father of the gods of Olympia) and the site where the Ancient Olympic Games took place . The lighting ceremony of the Olympic Flame takes place at the temple of Hera within the Olympia site, where the ruins of a temple dedicated to this goddess remain. The actual lighting ceremony is a reminder of ancient rituals, in which gods Zeus and Hera were honoured with several fires lit and animal sacrifices in the sanctuary of Olympia.

First, the Olympic Flame is lit by sunlight focused on a metal reflector – the flame can only be lit this way — and is a part of a ritual including a prayer and a hymn made by a woman representing the ancient role of the high priestess. The ceremony also involves a young boy who cuts off an olive branch and gives it to the high priestess, a symbolical gesture.

Maria Nafpliotou is playing the role of high priestess for the Lighting Ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay. Nafpliotou was born and lives in Athens. She’s a theatre, television and film actress as well as a dancer. Fluent in English, Nafpliotou has also played the role of high priestess during the Lighting Ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay.

For the Olympic Winter Games, once the Olympic Flame is lit and placed in an urn, the high priestess brings it to the Pierre de Coubertin monument and hands it over to the first torchbearer marking the start of the eight-day Greek stage of the Olympic Flame’s journey.

The Lighting Ceremony program began at noon (2:00 am Pacific Time) with the playing of the Olympic, Canadian and Greek anthems. The Mayor of Ancient Olympia, Georgios Aidonis, and the President of the Olympic Torch Relay Commission, Spyros Zannias, addressed the attendees.

Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), followed by Spyros Carpalos, President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, as well as Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Chief Executive Officer John Furlong and Premier of British Columbia Gordon Campbell attended the ceremony.

The 25-minute Lighting Ceremony ritual followed the address, and the High Priestess handed over the Olympic Flame to the first torchbearer before he departed via Pierre de Coubertin Grove.

Canadians will transport the Olympic Flame from Athens, Greece to Vancouver.