The flame of the 2nd European Games will spend 6 days in Grodno Oblast. On May 21 the Torch Relay arrives in Novogrudok. The participants of the relay will travel from one point to another with the main attributes of the ceremony – torches which are made in Novogrudok.
START PLACE IS IN ROME The 2nd European Games will be held in Minsk on 21-30 June 2019. The Torch Relay will kick off at Rome’s ancient Temple of Peace where the torch lighting ceremony will take place on 3 May.
On May 5–7, Belarusian climbers will raise the torch of the “Flame of Peace” to the highest point of Europe — Mount Mont Blanc. Accompanied by the Belarusian biker club, the Flame of Peace will arrive at the Polish-Belarusian border near Brest on 12 May and will then travel across 60 localities of the country. The flame will enter Grodno Oblast on 18 May.
THE WAY OF «FLAME OF PEACE» IN GRODNO OBLAST The Flame will be carried to Lenina Square in Grodno. At 5 pm on May 18 a concert to celebrate the Flame of Peace in Grodno Oblast will start here. The participants of the relay race will run and cycle along the central streets of the regional center.
On the second day, the torchbearers will take the flame to the Augustovski canal. Here the torchbearers will become passengers of water transport as part of the route of the relay will be held by water.
The next destination will be Vertelishki agro-town — the center of one of the most successful agricultural enterprises Agricultural Production Co-operative «Progress-Vertelishki». In the column of retro cars, the caravan of the relay will go to Volkovysk, where the flame will be risen to «the Swedish mountain» A visit to Mir Castle will be symbolic.
The torchbearers will also visit Novogrudok, Berezovka and Lida. On the final day, May 23, the “Flame of Peace” will arrive in Zalesye, in the museum-estate of M.-K. Oginsky in Smorgon, where a ball will be held in honor of the bright event. In Grodno oblast, the finish of the relay will be in agrotown Gervyaty, near the walls of the architectural pearl of Belarus — the Trinity Church.
WHO WILL BEAR? Apart from Grodno the torch relay will pass Vertelishki, Novogrudok and Lida where concerts and festive events for citizens and guests will take place. The burning symbol of the upcoming European Games will be welcomed in the key city-forming industrial enterprises of the region — in JSC «Grodno Azot», OJSC «Glassworks» Neman», Lidahleboprodukt, JSC «Lakokraska», Volkovysk OJSC Bellakt, JSC “Novogrudok Gas Equipment Plant” and the Belarusian nuclear power plant in Ostrovets. — It will be a truly large-scale and spectacular event. About 30 people will become torchbearers in our region — famous people of the region, honorary citizens of cities and districts, athletes, public figures. “Several hundred volunteers, about 300 workers of culture, trade, the law enforcement forces and thousands of spectators will take part in the relay,” said Oleg Andreychik, the head of the sport and tourism department of the regional executive committee.
HOW THE CARAVAN WILL LOOK LIKE In the transport caravan of the torch relay there will be several passenger minibuses, a car and two trucks. Along the whole route the caravan will always be accompanied by the traffic police. There will be about fifty people in the transport caravan: the relay administrators, fire keepers, volunteers and technical staff, drivers. In each regional center, 15 local volunteers will join them to help with local organization. A special uniform is designed for the participants of the relay: a white uniform is for torchbearers, a grey one — for «fire keepers», and white-gray one — for «flame volunteers.» TORCH COMES FROM NOVOGRUDOK The torch relay will span a number of European countries: Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland. Only in Belarus there will be more than 60 stops. The participants of the relay will bear the main attributes of the ceremony — torches. By the way, they come from Grodno oblast. On the basis of specially developed project, 200 torches are manufactured at Novogrudok Gas Equipment Plant OJSC. One torch will burn for at least 15 minutes, and then, “sharing” the fire with the next torch, will go to the gas station “for refueling”.
— Each torch weighs just over 1.5 kilograms, the burning flame in it can resist winds up to 20 meters per second, said Vitaly Yarosh, head of the mechanical repair department of Novogrudok Gas Equipment Plant OJSC. The design of the torch is fully developed at the Novogrudok enterprise. So the moment when one of the torches arrives at the enterprise will be very symbolic for its employees. THEY’LL MAKE A FILM ABOUT THE RELAY A film about the journey of the Flame of Peace will be made throughout the entire route. It will be shown during the opening of the main sports competition of the upcoming summer. The movie will tell about places of interest and tourist attractions of each region, show their industrial and economic potential. “The Torch relay in Grodno oblast will be both a memorable event for the locals and a kind of tourist guide for future guests of the competition,” Oleg Andreychik says. — The torch will travel across the iconic landmarks of Grodno oblast, the region will be presented as interesting as possible. HOW THE PREPARATION GOES In Grodno oblast, the procession will take place on the territory of seven districts — Grodno, Volkovysk, Korelichi, Novogrudok, Lida, Smorgon, and Ostrovets. The route has already been coordinated, the format of the related events has been determined and plans for the improvement and greening of cities have been approved. In addition, as Oleg Andreichik said, more than a hundred thematic banners have already been installed throughout the region, which remind of the upcoming big and important event. The life-size puppets of the mascot of the 2nd European Games, Lesik the Baby Fox, will appear in the districts. As the event approaches, the attention to the main sports theme of the season will be drawn exponentially in mass media.
