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Olympic torch will be launched into outer space

Olympic flame to travel a total of 65,000 kilometers across and above Russia

Photo ITAR-TASS/ Stanislav Krasilnikov

Photo ITAR-TASS/ Stanislav Krasilnikov

SOCHI, August 7 (Itar-Tass) - The Olympic flame will travel 65,000 kilometres, with a route going through the North Pole and even outer space, before finally reaching Sochi where the Winter Olympic Games will be held next February, Sochi-2014 Organising Committee Chair Dmitry Chernyshenko said on Wednesday, August 7.

“On October 6, the Olympic Flame is to arrive in Moscow to start the longest race in the Olympic history that will last 23 days and cover 65,000 kilometres - one equator and a half - and travel through almost 3,000 locales,” he said.

“We have various exciting projects, all showing people diversity of our country is. An interesting undertaking is transportation of the flame to the North Pole. We have also signed an agreement with [Federal Space Agency] Roscosmos to take the flame to outer space,” Chernyshenko said.

The Olympic flame will be lit on September 29.

After the Olympic Games the Paralympics torch relay race will begin. It will run through 46 Russian cities in ten days.

Rehearsals of the Olympics opening and closing ceremonies will begin September 1. Their concept and schedule have already been approved; the perfomances have been fully funded. Rehearsals of crowd scenes at the Olympic Stadium will kick off September 11.

The second stage of Olympic ticket sales is scheduled to begin in September as well. The first stage ended in May and proved to be quite successful; more than half of all available tickets were sold. Sale of tickets to the Paralympic Games will begin September 27.

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