|
Every two years, law enforcement officers from around the world gather to carry the "Flame of Hope" in a Law Enforcement Torch Run© Final Leg in honor of the Special Olympics World Summer or World Winter Games. This year the Torch Run Final Leg for the 2003 World Summer Games will cover more than 15,000 km (9,000 miles) in Europe, the most ambitious Torch Run organized in the region.
"It is truly fitting that during The European Year of People with Disabilities in 2003, the Special Olympics 'Flame of Hope' should be part of celebrations in more than 15 European cities, as well as being a catalyst for a week of events in Ireland building up to the Opening Ceremonies for the World Games in Dublin," said Michael Smith, Managing Director, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia. "Our hope is that these celebrations will serve to highlight the voices of individuals with mental handicaps and leave a legacy of greater understanding, opportunity and achievement," Smith said.
 |
Superintendent Eddie Finucane, of An Garda Siochana, stationed in Clondalkin, Co. Dublin, carries the torch through the streets of Athens during the Final Leg of the Law Enforcement Torch Run. [Photo credit; Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE *EDI*] |
More than 15 of Europe's most beautiful cities will open their doors to welcome the "Flame of Hope" and the Torch Runners while playing tribute to the Special Olympics athletes from their community who will be competing in the World Games. Several heads of state will be among those welcoming the "Flame of Hope" while community runs, public concerts, receptions and sporting events are being planned.
The Flame will be carried along the following routes:
- Route 1 - Madrid (5 June), Gibraltar (5 June), Nice (6 June), Monaco (6 June), Milan (7 June), Lausanne (8 June), Paris (9 June)
- Route 2 - Helsinki (5 June), Riga (6 June), Warsaw (7 June), Hamburg (8 June), The Hague (10 June)
- Route 3 - Istanbul (5 June), Budapest (6 June), Vienna (7 June), Prague (8 June)
 |
 |
Sponsors for the 2003 Final Leg Torch Run Across Europe are FedEx and the Fraternal Order of Police. The Fraternal Order of Police is the world's largest organization of sworn law enforcement officers, with more than 308,000 members in more than 2,100 lodges; FedEx Corp. is a premier global provider of transportation, logistics, e-commerce and supply-chain management services |
The Torch Runners will converge in Brussels on 10 June, continue on to London on 11 June and arrive in Belfast on 12 June.
The Flame will arrive in Bangor, Co. Down on 13 June, where the team will be joined by members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Garda Skochina, who will carry the torch throughout Ireland. The Final Leg team will stop in over 130 communities across Ireland where ceremonies will take place. Local people may join the run as it makes its way through their community.
 |
eircom, a sponsor of Special Olympics in Ireland since 1985, is the designated sponsor of the Torch Run's Final Leg through Ireland 12-19 June. Ireland's leading communications company provides a comprehensive range of advanced voice, data and Internet services. |
In keeping with Final Leg tradition, the Final Leg team will carry the Special Olympics "Flame of Hope" to Croke Park on 21 June for the Opening Ceremony of 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games. The Torch will then be handed over to a Special Olympics athlete who will light the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony, marking the opening of the Games.
International public relations agency Fleishman-Hillard is the Communications Partner for the project and is providing event organizing committees in each host city with support with their media activities. |
