Russia was ready to put on a grand show for the Winter Games when the Olympic torch arrived in Sochi despite concerns about gay rights and corruption.
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The Olympic flame has reached Sochi, following a 65 000km route, the longest in the history of the Games.
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/ 10 November 2009
The Olympic flame began its first trek through the Canadian Arctic by crossing paths with a polar bear on the shores of Hudson Bay.
The IOC has decided to scrap torch relays outside the host country ahead of Olympic Games in the wake of last year’s chaos in the build-up to Beijing.
Flag-waving crowds cheered the torch relay through Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on Wednesday as Olympic fever mounted.
The Olympic torch was paraded on Saturday through the streets of Tibet’s capital, Lhasa — the scene of bloody riots in March.