Blog # 5. Russia welcomes Olympic flame

Russia welcomes Oympic flame
By Will Englund, Published October 6 

On Sunday, Russia welcomed the Olympic flame in the middle of a patriotic ceremony held on Red Square, Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the ceremony.

The brief event lasted only 22 minutes and included a greeting song and a huge screen showing Russian natural wonders and architecture.

The presentation avoided recent controversial issues such as the protest last month by Greenpeace concerning the Arctic oil rig (where volunteers got arrested), and the new anti-gay law.

The Olympic torch arrived in Russia from Greece aboard the National airline and was set on the Red Square stage. President Putin addressed the flame in a welcoming manner claiming that it will bring luck to the Nation, and ended by saying "until we meet again in Sochi."

A hand held torch was lit from the bigger flame and handed over Shavarsh Karapetyan, a one-time champion swimmer who carried it through Savior Gate where the flame blew out. A person rekindled the flame with a cigarette lighter.

After spending two days in Moscow, The Olympic torch will be transported in a variety of different vehicles and 14,000 individual runners will tour throughout Russia, including an out of space trip aboard the international space station.

Analysis

The organizers for next year's Winter Olympics made a great effort in order to celebrate the arrival of  the Olympic flame. According to the article, President Putin appeared to be happy and proud of the event.

President Putin is taking the opportunity to share with the world Russia's progress and that is why the Olympic torch is going to travel many miles throughout the country.

Even though most of the article is about the Olympic flame, the author mentions the two controversial issues that have been overshadowing the organization of the Olympic Games, being the anti-gay law and the Arctic oil rig.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/russia-welcomes-olympic-flame/2013/10/06/ed3b4b1c-2eac-11e3-9ddd-bdd3022f66ee_story.html

Rosa Flores
10/10/13
10:00 PM