Dar es Salaam honored to be only African city to host Olympic Torch

The Olympic Torch is scheduled to relay in mid-April next year through Dar es Salaam, the only city on the African continent, before reaching Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Summer Games.

The torch relay schedule for Dar es Salaam was announced on Friday by the Chinese Embassy along with the Tanzanian Ministry for Information, Culture and Sports and the City Council of the Dar es Salaam.

"No one should be surprised by the choice of Dar es Salaam as the only city in Africa to host the Olympic Flame during the Torch Relay," said Chinese Ambassador Yu Qingtai at the conference to announce the scheduled relay to the Tanzanian city.

"The United Republic of Tanzania has a solid track record of being a country of peace, harmony and progress. The people of Tanzania are well known for their friendliness and hospitality. The country is blessed with an outstanding leadership which is widely recognized for its devotion to achieving economic and social development," added the ambassador.

Tanzanian Information, Culture and Sports Minister Muhamed Seif Khatib said at the occasion that the Tanzanian people had witnessed another good event of extended relationship and brotherhood expressed by the Chinese people by selecting Dar es Salaam to host the Olympic Torch.

"The arrival of the Olympic Torch in our city will foster sports development and it is a motivation to our young people to participate in sports and eventually to become Olympians," said the minister.

The city mayor of Dar es Salaam, Adam Kimbisa, added that city dwellers were greatly honored to host the Olympic Torch in Africa.

"It is a great honor that Dar es Salaam will be the only African city to host the Olympic Torch," said the mayor.

According to the scheduled torch relay program announced in Beijing late on Thursday, the Olympic Torch will arrive in Dar es Salaam from Buenos Aires of Argentina in South America and will leave the Tanzanian city for Muscat of Oman to continue its relay before ending up in Beijing on August 8, 2008.

The torch relay is scheduled to start on April 1 of 2008 and to last 130 days in all, making it the longest Olympic Torch Relay in history.

Source: Xinhua