HARBIN – From Turin to Almaty to Harbin. On 26 September 2018, the Universiade Flame international leg stopped over in the People’s Republic of China in the city of Harbin that hosted the 24th Winter Universiade in 2009.
The Universiade Flame started in Wanda Indoor Ski Resort. Sergey Alekseev, the Acting Minister of Sport of the Krasnoyarsk Region brought the lantern with the Universiade Flame onto the stage.
“It was almost 10 years ago that Harbin hosted the Universiade, and I am convinced that hosting the Universiade Flame leg is equally honourable,” said Sergey Alekseev, greeting the participants and guests of the leg. “Today any of us could touch the Universiade Flame, one of the main symbols of the forthcoming Games.”
The official events of the Universiade Flame leg were attended by FISU President Oleg Matytsin, Sun Zhe, the Mayor of Harbin, Vladimir Larin, the Vice-Consul of the Russian Federation Consulate General in Shenyang, Sergey Yeremin, the Mayor of Krasnoyarsk, Zhu Zhiqiang, the President of the Harbin Sport University and Maxim Urazov, the Director General of ANO “Directorate Krasnoyarsk 2019”.
Zhang Yiwei, the silver medalist of the Snowboard World Championships, was one of the first to bear the Flame. He slid down the course of Wanda Indoor Ski Resort on a snowboard with the torch in his hand. A total of 29 bearers followed the athlete, carrying the torch through the streets of Harbin.
The participants of the Universiade Flame also ran past the Opera House that is famous all over the world for its unique architecture and then proceeded to the campus of the Harbin Sport University.
Sergey Yermin, Major of Krasnoyarsk, speaking to the audience during the Universiade Flame ceremony in Harbin
The Universiade Flame leg endedwith Sergey Yeremin saying: “The Universiade Flame was lit in Turin and arrived to one of the most gorgeous cities in the world, Harbin. In 157 days the Winter Universiade2019 will start in Krasnoyarsk. I promise these games will be hot!”
The celebration culminatedwith a present from the Organising Committee, a 40-minute performance on ice where figure skaters, short track masters and martial-arts representatives demonstrated their skills.
“The journey of the Flame imbued it with the energy of the host cities and their citizens. Now full of this positive energy it will make its way further in Russia,” said Urazov. “Everyone is welcome to visit the games in Krasnoyarsk in March 2019. We will do our best for the guests to get good impressions only,” he continued.
The Universiade Flame started on the International Day of University Sport, 20 September, in Turin, Italy, with the Krasnoyarsk 2019 Winter Unversiade Flame lightning ceremony. Then Kazakhstan met the Universiade Flame, the flame bearers ran along the streets of Almaty on 24 September. Harbin was the last international leg of the Universiade Flame.
The Russian leg of the Universiade Flame will start in Moscow on 29 September and will encompass 30 major cities of the country. This leg will end on 1 March 2019 in Krasnoyarsk, the host city of the upcoming Winter Universiade. The multi-sport event opens on 2 March.
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