The Olympic Torch Relay started in Beijing on Wednesday, with torchbearers set to travel to the cities of Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, the Great Wall of China, and the Summer Palace, and will feature more than a thousand frontline workers and the first robot-to-robot hand-off in history
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd February, 2022) The Olympic Torch Relay started in Beijing on Wednesday, with torchbearers set to travel to the cities of Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, the Great Wall of China, and the Summer Palace, and will feature more than a thousand frontline workers and the first robot-to-robot hand-off in history.
"The Beijing 2022 Olympic Torch Relay will take place from 2 to 4 February across three cities: Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, featuring hundreds of torchbearers including the first-ever robot-to-robot handover in history," the statement published on Beijing Winter Olympics website said.
According to the statement, Beijing turned out to be the first city in history to welcome the flame of both Summer (2008) and Winter (2022) Olympics.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, several health and safety measures have been taken to reduce the length and duration of the relay, the statement noted, adding that approximately 1,200 torchbearers whose ages range from 14 to 86 will carry the torch along the Badaling section of the Great Wall, via the Nihewan ruins, the Fulong Ski Resort and the Summer Palace.
"On the afternoon of 2 February at the Beijing Winter Olympic Park near Yongding River, amphibious and underwater robots will be used in the relay, marking the first time in history for the torch to be passed from robot-to-robot," the statement read.
The Olympics will be held from February 4-20 and the Paralympics from March 4-13. The upcoming Games are notable for the fact that the competitions will be held in three host zones at once - Beijing (hockey, figure skating, speed skating, curling), Zhangjiakou (biathlon, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, ski jumping), and Yanqing (alpine skiing, bobsleigh, skeleton and luge sport). Accordingly, there are also three Olympic villages at this year's Winter Olympics in China.
