Torch relay coming to Burnaby Feb. 11
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The Olympic Torch Relay will be making its way through Burnaby on Feb. 11, but it won’t be stopping for long.
The torch will be carried through Burnaby on three separate legs (as opposed to a continuous route) and will stop for a grand total of three minutes, likely just enough time for a few photo ops, said Matthew Coyne, executive director of Tourism Burnaby.
The Olympic torch will spend about two-and-a-half hours in Burnaby that day and is scheduled to leave town at 12:40 p.m.
It will be late January at the earliest before torch relay organizers reveal the exact route to allow for the public to come out and cheer torchbearers on, Coyne said.
He estimated that, with each torchbearer running with the torch for 300 metres, there will be upwards of 24 participants running in this city.
Those runners will include a representative from American newspaper USA Today, part of the Canadian Tourism Commission’s efforts to market Canada to tourists.
After the torch has passed through, the Burnaby Spirit Committee will host an arts and cultural celebration from 2 to 6 p.m. at Metropolis at Metrotown, featuring about 20 performances, from dance to a marching band and rhythmic gymnastics, with a focus on Burnaby talent.
