The story

The biggest showcase in the build-up for the Olympics begins on Monday, March 24, with the lighting of the Olympic torch in ancient Olympia, Greece.

It signifies the start of the international Olympic torch relay and in keeping with the rest of the Beijing Olympics' preparations it's on a grand scale.

Featuring a cast of thousands of torch bearers and covering more than 85,000 miles, the international relay route is a whirlwind tour of 23 cities across six continents in 34 days. Read full article »

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