Jiang Xiaoyu (L), executive vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), holds the Olympic flame upon its arrival at the Islamabad airport on Wednesday, April 16, 2008. [Photo Xinhua]
The Beijing Olympic flame arrived in Pakistani capital Islamabad at 025 local time (1925GMT) for the 10th leg of its global tour.
The Olympic flame, carried in a specially-designed lantern, was flied to Islamabad on a chartered plane from Muscat, the capital and largest city of the Sultanate of Oman.
Upon arrival, the Olympic flame and the whole delegation were welcomed by a cheering crowd, among whom are President of Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) Arif Hassan, Pakistan's Sports Minister Muhammad Asif and Chairman of Capital Development Authority Kamran Lashari as well as Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Luo Zhaohui.
The flame delegation is headed by Jiang Xiaoyu, vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee of Olympic Games (BOCOG), who carried the flame lantern.
The POA president said he has got great feelings after offering a bunch of flowers to Jiang.
The Olympic torch relay, the first time for Islamabad, will start on Wednesday afternoon in southeast Islamabad's Pakistan Sports Complex, a sports project constructed in mid-1980s with assistance from China.
Local media said Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani are likely to attend the torch relay ceremony. There are 65 torch bearers in the relay, including 10 women.
Following the stop of Islamabad, the Olympic torch relay will go to New Delhi of India.
The 2008 Olympic flame was ignited on March 24 in ancient Olympia of Greece and was handed over to Beijing on March 31 after a six-day relay in Greece.
The 130-day torch relay will cover 137,000 kilometers before the flame returns to Beijing and enters the National Stadium on Aug. 8 for the Olympics' opening ceremony.
A total of 21,880 torch bearers will be participating in the unprecedented relay, which is held under the theme of Journey of Harmony.
Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), holds the Olympic flame upon its arrival at the Islamabad airport on Wednesday, April 16, 2008. [Photo: Xinhua]
Executive vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad Jiang Xiaoyu (C), President of the Pakistan Olympic Association Arif Hassan (R), and Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Luo Zhaohui take photos with the Olympic flame at the Islamabad airport on Wednesday, April 16, 2008. [Photo: Xinhua]
Jiang Xiaoyu (C), executive vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), holds the Olympic flame upon its arrival at the Islamabad airport on Wednesday, April 16, 2008. [Photo: 2008.sohu.com]
