Sequence of events
Greece: On March 24, 2008, the Olympic Flame was ignited at Olympia, Greece, site of the ancient Olympic Games. The actress Maria Nafpliotou, in the role of a High Priestess, ignited the torch of the first torchbearer, a silver medalist of the 2004 Summer Olympics in taekwondo Alexandros Nikolaidis from Greece, who handed the flame over to thetorchbearer, Olympic champion in women's breaststroke Luo Xuejuan from China.
Following the recent unrest in Tibet, three members of Reporters Without Borders, including Robert Ménard, breached security and attempted to disrupt a speech by Liu Qi, the head of Beijing's Olympic organising committee during the torch lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece. The People's Republic of China called this a "disgraceful" attempt to sabotage the Olympics. On March 30, 2008 in Athens, during ceremonies marking the handing over of the torch from Greek officials to organizers of the Beijing games, demonstrators shouted 'Free Tibet' and unfurled banners; some 10 of the 15 protesters were taken into police detention. After the hand-off, protests continued internationally, with especially violent confrontations with police in Nepal.
China: In China, the torch was number one welcomed by Politburo Standing Committee module Chinese flags and cause by water bottles. The BBC presented that hundreds of people demonstrated in Beijing, Wuhan, Hefei, Kunming and Qingdao.
In response to the demonstrations, an editorial in the People's Daily urged Chinese people to "express [their] patriotic enthusiasm calmly and rationally, and express patriotic aspiration in an orderly and legal manner".
Kazakhstan: The first torchbearer in Medeo stadium to Astana Square. There were reports that Uighur activists were arrested and some were deported back to China.
Turkey: The torch relay leg in Istanbul, held on April 3, started on Sultanahmet Square and finished in Taksim Square. Uyghurs alive in Turkey protested at Chinese treatment of their compatriots living in Xinjiang. Several protesters who tried to disrupt the relay were promptly arrested by the police.
Russia: On April 5 the Olympic torch arrived at Victory Square and finish at the Palace Square. Mixed martial arts icon and former PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko was one of the torch bearers. This enable him the distinction of the being the first active MMA fighter to carry the Olympic flame.
Great Britain: The torch relay leg held in London, the host city of the home Secretary Jacqui Smith has officially complained to Beijing Organising Committee about the move of the tracksuit-clad Chinese security guards. The Chinese officials, seen manhandling protesters, were described by both the London Mayor Ken Livingstone and Lord Coe, chairman of the London Olympic Committee as "thugs". A Metropolitan police briefing paper revealed that security for the torch relay equal £750,000 and the participation of the Chinese security team had been agreed in advance, despite the Mayor stating, "We did not know beforehand these thugs were from the security services. Had I call so, we would have said no."
Of the 80 torch-bearers in London, Sir Steve Redgrave, who started the relay, mentioned to the media that he had received e-mailed pleas to boycott the event and could "see why they would like to make an issue" of it. Francesca Martinez and Richard Vaughan refused to carry the torch, while Konnie Huq decided to carry it and also speak out against China. The pro-Tibetan constituent of Parliament Norman Baker asked any bearers to reconsider. Amid pressure from both directions, Prime Minister Gordon Brown welcomed the torch external 10 Downing Street without holding or touching it.
The London relay saw the torch surrounded by what the BBC described as "a mobile protective ring." Protests began as soon as Redgrave started the event, leading to at least thirty-five arrests. In Ladbroke Grove a demonstrator attempted to snatch the torch from Konnie Huq in a momentary struggle, and in a separate incident, a fire extinguisher was brand off nearly the torch. The Chinese ambassador carried the torch through Chinatown after an unpublicized modify to the route amid security concerns. The torch made an unscheduled move onto a bus along Fleet Street amid security concerns and efforts to evade the protesters.
In an effort to counter the pro-Tibet protesters and show their assistance for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, more than 2,000 Chinese also gathered on the torch route and demonstrated with signs, banners and Chinese flags. A large number of supporters were concentrated in Trafalgar Square, displaying the Olympic slogan "One World, One Dream".
France: The torch relay leg in Paris, held on April 7, began on the first level of the Eiffel Tower and finished at the Stade Charléty. The relay was initially supposed to cover 28 km, but it was shortened at the demand of Chinese officials following widespread protests by pro-Tibet and human rights activists, who repeatedly attempted to disrupt, hinder or halt the procession. A scheduled ceremony at the town hall was cancelled at the request of the Chinese authorities, and, also at the request of Chinese authorities, the torch finished the relay by bus instead of being carried by athletes.
Paris City officials had announced plans to greet the Olympic flame with peaceful protest when the torch was tothe French capital. The city government attached a banner reading "Paris defends human rights throughout the world" to the flame attendants who extinguished the torch which he was approximately to hand over to Teddy Riner: "I understand they're afraid of everything, but this is just annoying. They extinguished the flame despite the fact that there was no risk, and they could see it and they knew it. I don't know why they did it."
The Chinese officials decided they would not stop here because they were upset by Parisian citizens expressing their help for human rights.
Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë
Chinese officials canceled the torch relay ceremony amidst disruptions, including a Tibetan flag flown from a window in the City Hall by Green Party officials.
The third torchbearer in the Paris leg, Jin Jing, who was disabled and carried the torch on a wheelchair, was assaulted several times by unidentified protesters seemingly from the pro-Tibet self-employed person camp. In interviews, Jin Jing said that she was "tugged at, scratched" and "kicked", but that she "did not feel the pain at the time." She received praise from ethnic Chinese worldwide as "Angel in Wheelchair". The Chinese government gave thethat "the Chinese respect France a lot" but "Paris [has slapped] its own face."
Reporters Without Borders organised several symbolic protests, including scaling the Eiffel Tower to hang a protest banner from it, and hanging an identical banner from the Notre Dame cathedral.
Several hundred pro-Tibet protesters gathered at the Trocadéro with banners and Tibetan flags, and remained there for a peaceful protest, never approaching the torch relay itself. Among them was Jane Birkin, who spoke to the media about the "lack of freedom of speech" in China. Also present was Thupten Gyatso, President of the French Tibetan community, who called upon pro-Tibet demonstrators to "remain calm, non-violent, peaceful".
French members of Parliament and other French politicians also organised a protest. any political parties in Parliament—UMP, Socialists, New Centre, Communists, Democratic Movement centre and Greens—jointly requested a pause in the National Assembly's session, which was granted, so that MPs could step external and unfurl a banner which read "Respect for Human Rights in China". The coach containing the torch drove past the National Assembly and the assembled protesting MPs, who shouted "Freedom for Tibet!" several times as it passed.
French police were criticised for their handling of the events, and notably for confiscating Tibetan flags from demonstrators. The newspaper Libération commented: "The police did so much that only the Chinese were assumption freedom of expression. The Tibetan flag was forbidden everywhere apart from on the Trocadéro." Minister of the Interior Michèle Alliot-Marie later stated that the police had not been ordered to do so, and that they had acted on their own initiative. A cameraman for France 2 was struck in the face by a police officer, knocked unconscious, and had to be sent to hospital.
United States of America: The torch relay's North American leg occurred in San Francisco, California on April 9. On the day of the relay officials diverted the torch run to an unannounced route. The start was at Chinese government because of the incredible influence of money." Newsom, on the other hand, said he felt it was in "everyone's best interest" and that he believed people had been "afforded the modification to protest and assist the torch" despite the route changes. Peter Ueberroth, head of the U.S. Olympic Committee, praised the route changes, saying, "The city of San Francisco, from a global perspective, will be applauded." People who saw the torch were surprised and cheered as shown from survive video of CBS and NBC. The cost to the city for hosting the event was reported to be US$726,400, nearly half of which has been recovered by private fundraising. Mayor Gavin Newsom said that "exponential" costs associated with mass arrests were avoided by his decision to conform the route in acknowledgment with police chief Heather Fong.
On April 1, 2008, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a resolution addressing human rights concerns when the Beijing Olympic torch arrives in San Francisco on April 9. The resolution would welcome the torch with "alarm and protest at the failure of China to meet its past solemn promises to the international community, including the citizens of San Francisco, to cease the egregious and ongoing human rights abuses in China and occupied Tibet." On April 8, many protests were planned including one at the city's United Nations Plaza led by actor Richard Gere and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Some advocates for Tibet, Darfur, and Falun Gong recognized as cult in mainland China, planned to protest the April 9 arrival of the torch in San Francisco. China had already requested the torch route in San Francisco be shortened.
On April 7, 2008, two days prior to the actual torch relay, three activists carrying Tibetan flags scaled the suspension cables of the Golden Gate Bridge to unfurl two banners, one saying "One World, One Dream. Free Tibet", and the other, "Free Tibet '08".
Among them was San Francisco resident Laurel Sutherlin, who spoke to the local TV station KPIX-CBS5 live from a cellphone, urging the International Olympic Committee to ask China not to let the torch to go through Tibet. "Sutherlin said he was worried that the torch's planned route through Tibet would lead to more arrests and Chinese officials would usage force to stifle dissent." The three activists and five supporters face charges related to trespassing, conspiracy and causing a public nuisance.
The torch was lit at a park outside at PDT 20:17 UTC, briefly held aloft by American and Chinese Olympic officials. The relay descended into confusion as the first runner in the elaborately planned relay disappeared into a warehouse on a waterfront pier where it stayed for a half-an-hour. There were clashes between thousands of pro-China demonstrators, many of whom said they were bused in by the Chinese Consulate and other pro-China groups, and both pro-Tibet and Darfur protesters. The non-Chinese demonstrators were reported to have been swamped and trailed by angry crowds. Around 2 pm PDT 21:00 UTC, the torch resurfaced about 3 km 1.9 mi away from the stadium along Where's Waldo, played against the landscape of a lovely city." International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said the San Francisco relay had "fortunately" avoided much of the disruptions that marred the legs in London and Paris, but "was, however, not the joyous party that we had wished it to be."
Argentina: The torch relay leg in obelisk and Plaza de Mayo.
The day was marked by several pro-Tibet protests, which included a giant banner reading "Free Tibet", and an alternative "human rights torch" that was lit by protesters and paraded along the route the flame was to take. Most of these protests were peaceful in nature, and the torch was not impeded. Chinese immigrants also turned out in support of the Games, but only minor scuffles were reported between both groups. Runners surrounded by rows of security carried the Olympic flame past thousands of jubilant Argentines in the most trouble-free torch relay in nearly a week. People showered the parade route with confetti as banks, government offices and businesses took an impromptu half-day holiday for the only Latin American stop on the flame's five-continent journey.
Argentine activists told a news conference that they would not try to snuff out the torch's flame as demonstrators had in Paris and London. "I want to announce that we will not put out the Olympic torch," said pro-Tibet activist Jorge Carcavallo. "We'll be implementation surprise actions throughout the city of Buenos Aires, but all of these will be peaceful." Among other activities, protesters organized an pick march that went from the Obelisk to the city hall, featuring their own "Human Rights Torch." A giant banner reading "Free Tibet" was also displayed on the torch route. According to a exercise from the NGO 'Human Rights Torch Relay', their objective was to "show the contradiction between the Olympic Games and the presence of widespread human rights violations in China"
The outreach director of HRTR, Susan Prager, is also the communication director of "Friends of Falun Gong", a quasi-government non-profit funded by fmr. Congressman Tom Lanto's wife and Ambassador generation Palmer of NED. A major setback to the event was caused by footballer Diego Maradona, scheduled to open the relay through Buenos Aires, pulling out in an attempt to avoid the Olympic controversy. Trying to avoid the scenes that marred the relay in the UK, France and the US, the city government designed a complex security operative to protect the torch relay, involving 1200 police officers and 3000 other people, including public employees and volunteers. Overall, the protests were peaceful in nature, although there were a few incidents such(a) as the throwing of several water balloons in an attempt to extinguish the Olympic flame, and minor scuffles between Olympic protesters and supporters from Chinese immigrant communities.
Tanzania: Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium in Temeke, which was built with Chinese aid in 2005. The torch was lit by Vice-President Ali Mohamed Shein. About a thousand people followed the relay, waving the Olympic flag. The only noted exercise of protest was Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai's withdrawal from the list of torchearers, in protest against human rights abuses in Tibet.