A Pakistani security guard keeps watch outside a gymnasium decorated with posters and flags ready for the Beijing Olympic torch relay, in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 16, 2008. [Xinhua] |
The Olympic torch relay, the first time for Islamabad, will start on Wednesday afternoon in southeast Islamabad's Pakistan Sports Complex, a sports project constructed in mid-1980s with assistance from China.
Local media said Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani are likely to attend the torch relay ceremony. There are 65 torch bearers in the relay, including 10 women.
Following the stop of Islamabad, the Olympic torch relay will go to New Delhi of India.
The 2008 Olympic flame was ignited on March 24 in ancient Olympia of Greece and was handed over to Beijing on March 31 after a six-day relay in Greece.
The 130-day torch relay will cover 137,000 kilometers before the flame returns to Beijing and enters the National Stadium on August 8 for the Olympics' opening ceremony.
A total of 21,880 torch bearers will be participating in the unprecedented relay, which is held under the theme of "Journey of Harmony."
