Olympic Flame to be celebrated in Canada's Parliament Buildings on Thursday,
December 10

VANCOUVER , Dec. 9 /CNW/ - The Olympic Flame will be celebrated with a visit to Canada's Parliament Buildings in Ottawa on Thursday, December 10 as part of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) announced today.

Members of Parliament unanimously passed a motion late on December 07 officially inviting the Olympic Flame to enter the House of Commons chambers at 2 pm EST on December 10 . A notable torchbearer, whose identity will remain confidential, will carry the flame from the rotunda down the Prime Ministers' corridor and through the historic Canada doors into the chamber of the House of Commons. The House will resolve itself into Committee of the Whole to welcome the torchbearer to join members of Parliament, as well as VANOC Chief Executive Officer John Furlong .

The visit of the Olympic Flame to the House of Commons on Day 42 of its 106-day journey across Canada will be a media photo opportunity; further details will be provided in a subsequent advisory on Thursday, December 10 .

This ceremonial visit coincides with a break in the torch relay program occurring simultaneously in Montreal , QC. It will not affect current plans or scheduled community visits for the Montreal area.

With the event at the Parliament Buildings, the Olympic Flame will have visited every province and territory in Canada . Already, more than 4,000 torchbearers have carried the flame across approximately 25,000 kilometres on its way to the Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games on February 12, 2010 .

Daily media highlights, including details on torchbearers, images, broadcast quality video and editorial content for each day of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay are available to the media on FLAME, the torch relay digital asset management system. To register for FLAME, visit www.vancouver2010.com/flame, click 'Visit FLAME' and then 'Register now.'

For more information on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay visit www.vancouver2010.com/torchrelay.

For further information: Media contacts: Katie Green, VANOC Communications, [phone], [email protected]; Torch Relay Communications, Tel: [phone], E-mail: [email protected]; For additional media details or questions on accreditation please contact the parliamentary press gallery - Terry Guillon, [phone]