Mumbai to host Olympic Torch on April 17 next year

New Delhi, May 3 (UNI) For the first time, Mumbai will play host to Olympic Torch for the Beijing 2008 Games on April 17 next year.

This was announced by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games in the presence of the International Olympic Committee in Beijing.

The announcement accompanied the unveiling of the Lenovo-designed Torch, called the ''Cloud of Promise''. Lenovo's design was chosen over 300 competitor themes and will be carried by torchbearers around the world in the Olympic Torch Relay preceding the Beijing 2008 Games.

The torch, made of polished aluminum-magnesium alloy, measures 28.35 inches in height and weighs about 1 kg. The torch would last 130 days and travel 137,000 km across five continents after it is lit on March 25 th next year at Olympia in Greece.

It will arrive in Beijing on March 31 after which the Olympic Torch Relay will commence.

Mumbai is the twelfth city on the relay route and the Torch is expected to be carried by more than a hundred people converging in the city from across the country.

Torch Relay Route for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Olympia, Greece (March 25, 2008); Almaty, Kazakhstan April 2; Istanbul, Turkey (April 3); Saint Petersburg, Russia (April 5); Paris, France (April 6); London, England (April 7); San Francisco, USA (April 9); Buenos Aires, Argentina (April 11); Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania (April 13); Muscat, Oman (April 15); Islamabad, Pakistan (April 16); Mumbai, India (April 17); Bangkok, Thailand (April 19); Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (April 21); Jakarta, Indonesia (April 22); Canberra, Australia (April 24); Nagano, Japan (April 26); Seoul, South Korea (April 27); Pyongyang, North Korea (April 28); Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (April 30); Chinese Taipei, China (May 1); Hong Kong, China (May 2); Macau, China (May 3); UNI PDS BJR KN1930