Olympic Torch Relay

Yesterday--the day of the Olympic Torch Relay--got off to an exciting start, beginning with pre-dawn fireworks (which I missed, as I am sure many people did!) and the International Autumn Balloon Spectacular. This hot air balloon event is annual and lasts for about 9 days; the BBC said the balloons were set off to celebrate the relay, but I am pretty sure it was just a coincidence that the two events happened to overlap!

I had been watching the balloons nearly every morning while running up along the Mt Majura/Mt Ainslie parklands, and yesterday I finally decided to take my camera with me. I wish I had it with me a few days ago because on those days I saw some funky shaped hot air balloons, including a frog and a kookaburra!

The other side of the ridge

The Annual International Autumn Balloon Spectacular

The Torch Relay began at 8:30am at the lake, near Parliament House, then followed a 17km route past the War Memorial, down the main road (Northbourne), then back towards Lake Burley Griffin. There were 80 Australian Torch Bearers, so each person only got to carry it for about 200m.

I managed to catch the relay on Wakefield Ave, about 2km from my house, then follow it down Northbourne into Civic on my way in to Uni. The entire event had an exciting and energetic atmosphere, and despite how interesting it would have been if something crazy happened, I am also glad it went really smoothly.

I couldn't believe how many Chinese there were, many of whom were Uni students living in Australia. Supposedly over 100 buses of Chinese came in to watch the relay, and the Chinese seemed to outnumber the Aussies by far. (This should have been a warning to me, because I shouldn't have been so surprised when I went to work in the afternoon at the bus station and saw the cafe and terminal PACKED with Asians! It made for a busy shift!)

The Chinese supporters seemed to dwarf the small pockets of pro-Tibet activists and human rights demonstrators. I am sure though, that with all the publicity and media the past few months, they were able to get at least a few people's attention. I am relieved both sides were peaceful--like a screaming toddler, people are hesitant about taking 'extreme' cases seriously.

The corner of Wakefield and Northbourne

The next torch bearer waits for the flame (Wakefield Ave)

The motorcade coming over the hill (Wakefield Ave)

Following the torch down Northbourne

Torch bearers

Coming down Northbourne

Entering Civic