2002 Winter Olympics torch relay
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| Host city | Salt Lake City, Utah, United States |
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| Countries visited | Greece, United States of America |
| Distance | 13,500 miles (21,700 km) |
| Torch bearers | 12,012 |
| Theme | Light the Fire Within |
| Start date | December 4, 2001 |
| End date | February 8, 2002 |
 2002 Winter Olympics
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The 2002 Winter Olympics torch relay was a 65-day run, from December 4, 2001 to February 8, 2002, prior to the 2002 Winter Olympics. The runners carried the Olympic Flame throughout the United States - following its lighting in Olympia, Greece to the opening ceremony of the 2002 games at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. The 2002 torch relay was also the 50th anniversary of the Winter Olympic torch relay, which was first run during the 1952 Winter Olympics.
As with all the Olympic Torch Relays the goal is to share the Olympic Spirit with as many people as possible and promote that torch's particular games; in this case the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games. The Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) contracted with Além International Management, Inc. to plan the torch relay route, including security and marketing plans. The plan produced by SLOC and Além was announced to the public on December 4, 2000. It would have the torch cover 13,500 miles (21,700 km) passing through 46 of the 50 states in the United States, and be carried by 12,012 Torchbearers. The torch would pass through 300 communities, stopping twice-a-day: once for a mid-day celebration and then in a larger populated city for the night. 120 of the 300 communities would host the special celebrations, which would allow large groups of people to participate in the Olympic Spirit. It also allowed each community to show off local talent, its people, and history. Atlanta, New York City, and Salt Lake City were all selected as special Signature Cities, and they would host large relay celebrations which would be paid for, planned, and controlled by SLOC. Later plans for special commemorations of September 11, 2001, along the relay route in Washington, D.C. and New York City, would be added to the route plan. The torch and all relay marketing would be designed to closely follow the 2002 Olympic theme Light the Fire Within and the look of the games theme Land of Contrast - Fire and Ice.
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