VANOC Set To Stage Longest Torch Relay In Olympic History

The 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games "will stage the longest torch relay in one country in Olympic history" with a 100-day, 35,000 km trek, according to Derrick Penner of the VANCOUVER SUN. VANOC Exec VP/Revenue, Marketing & Communications Dave Cobb indicated that the relay's C$31M budget "will be underwritten mainly by key presenting sponsors Coca-Cola and RBC." Cobb said organizers are working on a route "that will get us to as many different places as possible, using a variety of means of transportation, to get to every corner of the country." Cobb added that Coke, a co-presenting sponsor of the Olympic torch relay since the '96 Atlanta Games, gives the event "the logistical experience in addition to its global marketing pull to stage the event." Cobb also said that RBC, which is a C$110M sponsor of the 2010 Games, "has the organizational size needed and has a presence in almost every community the relay is likely to touch." VANOC "offered the opportunity to sponsor the torch relay to all its international and top-tier domestic partners." Smaller sponsors of the relay will be announced at a later date (VANCOUVER SUN, 1/29).