The Paralympic Torch Relay will visit Whistler and 10 other communities during its 10-day journey next March in advance of the 2010 Paralympic Games opening ceremonies in Vancouver on March 12, 2010.
The relay is set to begin March 3 in Ottawa, the first of 11 Paralympic Torch Relay celebration sites. It will also visit Quebec City and an as-yet-unnamed community in Central Canada before heading to British Columbia, Vancouver 2010 and Paralympic Games organizers (VANOC) announced in a statement issued Thursday (Nov. 5).
The Paralympic flame will visit Victoria (March 6), Esquimalt and Squamish (March 7), Whistler (March 8), Lytton and Hope (March 9), Maple Ridge (March 10) and Vancouver (March 11 and 12), officials said.
“These 11 communities are sparks across this great land that shed light on and honour the remarkable athletic achievements of Paralympians and their triumphs over adversity,” said John Furlong, VANOC chief executive officer, said in a statement.
VANOC officials also announced that RBC and Coca-Cola, two major sponsors of the Olympic Torch Relay, had signed on as partners in the Paralympic Torch Relay, joining the federal and British Columbia governments in the endeavour.
