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| Home | News | Photo | European Games Flame of Peace at the finish line: Grandiose welcome in Minsk

European Games Flame of Peace at the finish line: Grandiose welcome in Minsk

European Games Flame of Peace at the finish line: Grandiose welcome in Minsk
17 Jun 2019

The Flame of Peace of the 2nd edition of the European Games was lit at the Ara Pacis Museum in Rome on 3 May. Belarusian climbers took the torch to the Mont Blanc summit. In Europe, the Flame of Peace traveled through Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland and arrived to Belarus through the “western gate” – the city of Brest – to travel across the whole country. The relay stayed for six days in every region, visited the landmark places and showed the world the country’s attractions, flavor, beauty and hospitality. The torch relay approached the finish line. On 17 June it was welcomed in National Flag Square in Minsk.

Taking part in the relay are 450 torchbearers – outstanding athletes, figures of art, science and politics. The final stage of the relay featured four-time Olympic champion Darya Domracheva, Olympic canoe sprint champion Aliaksandr Bahdanovich and track and field world champion Maryna Arzamasava.

The athletes carried the torch into State Flag Square and handed it over to Minsk Mayor Anatoly Sivak, Belarus National Olympic Committee Acting First Vice President Viktor Lukashenko and Sport and Tourism Minister Sergei Kovalchuk. The flame was lit in a special cauldron in State Flag Square. After that, three-time Olympic freestyle wrestling champion Aleksandr Medved handed over the flame to young athletes: sambo wrestler Stsiapan Papou, and athletes Elvira Herman and Volha Mazuronak.

The welcome ceremony of the European Games Flame in Minsk was a grandiose show which was watched by millions live on TV and online. State Flag Square gathered thousands of athletes, volunteers, star ambassadors of the games, fans from Belarus and abroad.

The show in the evening lights of Minsk set the tone for the upcoming competitions under the motto Bright Year, Bright You. Leading singers and young talents performed both all-favorite hits and new songs. Singer Ivan Vabishchevich and participant of the children’s song contest Vitebsk 2019 Kseniya Galetskaya sang a new composition called Flame of Peace. The concert was wrapped up with the song performed by legendary Deep Purple and Rainbow singer Joe Lynn Turner. The song was written by famous Belarusian composer Leonid Shirin and the rock singer himself. Joe Lynn Turner sang the final verse together with a children’s choir in one of the world’s most melodic languages, Belarusian.

With three days to go before the start of the 2nd European Games, the Flame of Peace will be welcomed at Minsk major companies, will be carried through the city’s avenues, streets and parks. Torchbearers will take the flame to every landmark of the city and, of course, to the Athletes’ Village. The torch relay will finish at Dinamo National Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2nd European Games.

European Games Flame of Peace at the finish line: Grandiose welcome in Minsk
European Games Flame of Peace at the finish line: Grandiose welcome in Minsk
Gymnast Liubov Charkashyna and Chairman of the Minsk City Council of Deputies Vasily Panasyuk
Retired track athlete Tatyana Ledovskaya and Deputy Director for Science at the Alexandrov National Cancer Center Sergei Krasny
Sergei Makarenko
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