Torch Relays Sichuan shifted August 3-5

[zhaosuli]

In support of earthquake relief efforts in Sichuan Province, the Sichuan leg of the Olympic Torch Relay will be shifted to August 3-5 from the originally scheduled dates of June 15-18.

According to the new arrangement, this will be the last relay leg before Beijing, which will see the Olympic flame entering the main stadium to start the Olympic Games on August 8, 2008.

The schedule of relay legs in other provinces and municipalities will be rearranged as well, according to the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay Center.

The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) urged integrity of the torch relay with the disaster relief efforts, making it a relay of love in contribution to the national relief efforts for earthquake-hit areas, and highlighting the concept of the "People's Olympics" during the relay.

The relay resumed on May 22 in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province after a suspension from May 19 to 21 to mourn victims of the May 12 earthquake, which has caused a large number of casualties in Sichuan Province in southwestern China.