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EMBARGOED until 10:45 am (Pacific Time) October 30, 2009 - (XXXXX) celebrated as first torchbearer with start of Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay's 45,000-kilometre journey across Canada
EMBARGOED until 10:45 am (Pacific Time) October 30, 2009 - (XXXXX) celebrated as first torchbeare...
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[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nOct. 30, 2009 (Canada NewsWire Group) -- VICTORIA, Oct. 30 /CNW/ -- The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay is officially underway with Him/Her revealed today as the first torchbearer to hold the Olympic Flame aloft on Canadian soil at the start of the historic 106-day journey celebrating Olympic Spirit and Canadian pride from coast to coast to coast.XX, a (insert description here) was quickly joined by (short description) XX, (short description) XX, and (short description) XX who took turns carrying the flame as it left the grounds of the British Columbia Parliament Buildings in Victoria, BC, and set out on Day 1 of its odyssey across Canada.XXX was especially chosen to kick-off the relay to highlight and celebrate (XXX).Upon the relay's conclusion on February 12, 2010 with the start of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the flame will have burned brightly in over 1,030 Canadian communities and reached within 900 kilometres of the North Pole.\"The flame embodies the Olympic ideals of excellence, friendship and respect. These values resonate deeply with all Canadians,\" said Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, as he welcomed the flame at the public ceremony in downtown Victoria.\"The Olympic Flame will be travelling across Canada on the longest torch relay within a single country in Olympic history. With nearly 200 communities across Canada participating in local celebrations, this is a chance for Canadians from all parts of our great nation to share in the excitement as we count down to the Games' opening day.\"With the glow of the Olympic Flame guiding their way, a ceremonial party of First Nations chiefs paddled across the waters of Victoria's Inner Harbour this morning towards the public welcoming ceremony cradling the flame from the dramatic jutting bow of a traditional canoe.On shore, onlookers waved Canadian flags as they lined the harbourfront and sweeping green lawns of the British Columbia Parliament Buildings craning for their first look at the flame.Traditionally painted with a Salish sea wolf on the blade-like bow, the Four Host First Nations canoe carrying the flame - a 13.5-metre ocean-going craft hand-carved from a single towering West Coast red cedar - was flanked on the historic voyage by two other canoes manned by representatives of the local First Nations who sang traditional songs.Before d...