Beijing Olympic Games

Updated：2008-04-05

(ST. PETERSBURG, April 5) – The Russian leg of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Torch Relay started off from the Monument to the Historic Defenders of Leningrad in St. Petersburg’s Victory Square.The following is a live report from a reporter from the official website of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games who is on-site following the Olympic Torch Relay in St. Petersburg:

The thirty-eighth torchbearer is now carrying the sacred flame along its route. There are people waving flags everywhere, the excitement in the air is almost palpable, even more so than in the torch’s last stop, Istanbul. Coincidentally, today is a holiday in Russia, so many people came out to show support for the torch relay. The paths along the relay route are crowded with people, and representatives from all sorts of media outlets have come to report on the sacred flame.

Most of the torchbearers running the route so far have been previous Olympic stars, showing Russia’s strong athletic history.

Fans are singing in the streets, adding to the relaxing atmosphere. Russia’s strength is evident in the way the torch relay has been organized, and through the strong characters of its people.

The torch relay was launched from St. Petersburg’s important memorial to the heroes of World War II this morning. While Leningrad was under a 900-day siege, the residents of the city and the soldiers on the Leningrad Front held off the Nazis, eventually saving their home. Before the relay began, the first torchbearer paid tribute to the memory of those who suffered with a moment of silence.

The final stop in St. Petersburg will be the Winter Palace, where Russian royalty once resided. An amazingly constructed facility, it is now the main building of the Hermitage Museum.

Now the fortieth torchbearer is carrying the sacred flame. At around noon, the torch relay will pause for a short break, at which time the updated torchbearer name list will be provided for the afternoon half of the torch relay in Russia.