Universiade Torch leaves Khabarovsk on its way to Yakutsk

KHABAROVSK – Hundreds gave the 2013 Summer Universiade Torch Relay a massive send off as the city of Khabarovsk bid a warm farewell to the Universiade Flame, one of the major symbols of this summer’s premier university sports event, which it had stored for a whole month in Far Eastern State Academy of Physical Culture.

Khabarovsk celebrated a historic occasion on 1 March 2013, when it welcomed the Universiade Flame, the symbol of peace, friendship and student solidarity, on its soil. After the Torch was carried through the city by celebrity Torchbearers and the City Cauldron was lit, the Flame was handed over for storage to Far Eastern State Academy of Physical Culture. On 7 March, the glass case with the Universiade Flame inside was put on a display at the grand opening of the Russian Men’s Sambo Championship at the Khabarovsk Territory Sports Centre Stadium. Thousands of citizens and guests of Khabarovsk were able to see the Flame while it enjoyed its stay in the Siberian city.

The solemn handover of the Universiade Flame was attended by Deputy Chairman of the Khabarovsk Territory Government Andrey Bazilevsky, who is also Minister of Education and Science of the Khabarovsk Territory; Sergey Galitsyn, Rector of Far Eastern State Academy of Physical Culture; Arkady Karbayev, Director of the Cultural and Social Programmes Department of the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate; and the Flame Keepers.

In his speech to representatives of Far Eastern State Academy of Physical Culture, Arkady Karbayev expressed his sincere gratitude to the Flame Keepers, the academy’s administration and people of the Khabarovsk Territory who had warmly welcomed and looked after the Universiade Flame, and he also invited them to be part of this historic event by attending the Summer Universiade competitions. At the end of the ceremony, letters of thanks were presented to the organisers of the Universiade Torch Relay in Khabarovsk.

On 28 March, which is precisely 100 days to go to the Kazan 2013 Summer Universiade, the Flame will arrive in Yakutsk where the third stage of the Russian leg will take place. The Universiade Torch, which will pass some of the city’s most recognisable landmarks, will be carried by more than 20 Torchbearers – athletes, cultural figures and Great Patriotic War veterans. More than that, during one of the legs the Universiade Torch will be transported by dog sled.

(Source: Kazan 2013 Media Dept.)