Olympic relay reaches Great Wall of China

by Amy Judd | August 6, 2008 at 06:36 pm

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The Olympic torch has been paraded along the Great Wall of China, just over 24 hours before the opening ceremony of the games.

Patriotic crowds lined the wall, waving fans and cheering, while streams of confetti shot into the air as the torch was lit from the Olympic flame.

The torch - which began the final leg of its global relay on Wednesday - is due to pass through suburbs of the nearby Chinese capital.

The torch has now crossed five continents, after leaving Olympia, Greece.
People in red and yellow costumes lined the route of the torch, and confetti, doves and balloons were released into the air.
Apparently however, the pollution hung thickly in the air.

Thursday morning's parade, our correspondent says, is what China always had in mind for the torch relay - a kind of stately procession through some of the world's most famous places.

It certainly has been a lot easier for the Chinese to control in their own country than it was abroad, he adds.

Due to the disruptions of this torch's relay across the world, it is unlikely at this point that there will be another Olympic torch relay for the games that follow this one.

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