Istanbul added to Athens Olympics torch relay route

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, October 22, 2003

Istanbul added to Athens Olympics torch relay route

The torch relay for the 2004 Athens Olympics will cover the Turkish city of Istanbul, one of the cities bidding to host the Games in 2012, Greece said on Tuesday.

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The torch relay for the 2004 Athens Olympics will cover the Turkish city of Istanbul, one of the cities bidding to host the Games in 2012, Greece said on Tuesday.

"The (Olympic flame) will go through Istanbul," Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou told reporters during the arrival in Athens of his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul.

Athens Games organizers have yet to finalize plans for the torch relay but have not ruled out including other cities.

The Athens torch relay, involving more than 10,000 runners, will be the largest in the history of the event, passing through five continents, including for the first time South America and Africa.

The olive leaf-shaped torch will stop at all the previous Olympic cities, as well as Rio de Janeiro, Cairo, Cape Town, New Delhi, Nicosia, Lausanne, New York and Beijing, site of the 2008 Games.

The Athens torch will be on the road for 35 days before its journey ends at Athens' Olympic stadium on August 13, 2004, with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.

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