Host city	Calgary, Canada
Countries visited	Greece, Canada
Distance	18,000 km
Torchbearers	6,214
Start date	15 November 1987 (1987-11-15)
End date	13 February 1988 (1988-02-13)

Part of a series on
1988 Winter Olympics
Bid process (bid details) Development (venues, torch relay) Marketing (mascots) Broadcasters Opening ceremony (flag bearers) Chronological summary Medal table (medallists) World and Olympic records Controversies Closing ceremony (flag bearers) Paralympics IOC COA OCO'88

The 1988 Winter Olympics torch relay was run from November 15, 1987, to February 13, 1988, prior to the Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics.

The planning of the Torch Relay required significant research and testing, with each kilometer of the relay test-driven three times, and estimates that each torch bearer would travel at a speed of 7 km/h.^[1] The relay kept to secondary highways as much as possible and used snowmobiles for 2,750 km between Shanty Bay, Ontario and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.^[1] Overall the torch travelled approximately 11,000 km on land and 7,000 km by air or sea.^[1]

Relay sponsor Petro Canada issued entry forms allowing citizens the chance to become one of 6,214 people to carry the torch for 1 kilometre (0.62 mi), torch bears were either chosen on merit or selected through random draws.^[2][3] Organizers, who initially expected to receive 250,000 entries, were inundated with over 6.6 million forms and called the response a sign that the Olympics had "fired the imagination of Canada".^[4][5] Part of the success for the number of applications was the OCO in February 1987 sending approximately 10 million applications out to virtually every Canadian household.^[2] The relay, called "Share the Flame", also saw the torch travel by boat, snowmobile and dogsled.^[1]

The Olympic Torch relay involved a convoy of 80 people in 40 support vehicles travelling 125 kilometers per day.^[2]

The Olympic torch relay began when the torch was lit at Olympia and Greek runner Stelios Bisbas began what was called "the longest torch run in history".^[6] The flame arrived in St. John's, Newfoundland on the Atlantic Ocean two days later and over 88 days, traveled west across Canada.^[4] It passed through each provincial capital and many major cities, north to the Arctic Ocean at Inuvik, Northwest Territories, then west to the Pacific Ocean at Victoria, British Columbia before returning east to Alberta, and finally Calgary.^[1] The route was designed in a way that 90 per cent of Canadians lived within a 2-hour drive of the route.^[1] The torch covered a distance of 18,000 kilometres (11,000 mi), the greatest distance for a torch relay in Olympic history until the 2000 Sydney Games, and a sharp contrast to the 1976 Montreal Games when the relay covered only 775 kilometres (482 mi).^[7]

The identity of the final torchbearer who would light the Olympic cauldron was one of OCO'88's most closely guarded secrets.^[8][9] The relay began at St. John's with Barbara Ann Scott, a 1948 gold medalist in figure skating and Ferd Hayward, the first Newfoundlander to represent Canada at an Olympic games in 1952, both representing Canada's past Olympians.^[8] The relay and ended with Ken Read and Cathy Priestner carrying the torch into McMahon Stadium representing the nation's current Olympians. They then stopped to acknowledge the contribution of para-athlete Rick Hansen and his "Man in Motion" tour ^[10] before handing the torch to 12-year-old Robyn Perry, an aspiring figure skater who was selected to represent future Olympians, to light the cauldron.^[9] The choice of Perry was an unusual departure from most Games as the cauldron has typically been lit by a famous individual or group from the host nation.^[11]

The relay was subject to peaceful protests by members and supporters of the Lubicon Cree First Nation at several stops in Ontario and Alberta in protest of ongoing land claim disputes between the band and the Crown, as well as discontent over an exhibit at Calgary's Glenbow Museum called "The Spirit Sings" that featured numerous artifacts stolen from native land.^[12]

The design of the Olympic Torch for the Calgary games was influenced by the landmark building of the Calgary skyline, the Calgary Tower.^[13] The National Research Council Canada developed the design for the Torch,^[13] which was constructed of maple, aluminum, and hardened steel, entirely Canadian materials, the torch was designed to remain lit despite the sometimes adverse conditions of Canadian winters.^[14] The Torch had to be light enough for relay runners to carry comfortably, and the final design came in at 60 centimeters in length and 1.7 kilograms in weight.^[13][4][15] The maple handle portion included laser-incised pictograms of the 10 official Olympic Winter sports, and lettering was engraved on the steel cauldron portion.^[13] The torch used a combination of gasoline, kerosene and alcohol to allow a continuous burn during the unpredictable Canadian winter.^[13] Approximately 100 torches were manufactured for the Games.^[13]

The Calgary Tower itself was retrofitted to install a cauldron at its peak and was lit for the duration of the Games, one of several "replica cauldrons" constructed at Olympic venues throughout Calgary and Canmore.^[16]

• Alwyn Morris - Montreal, Quebec - 1984 Olympic kayaking champion.^[17]
• Linda Thom - Kingston, Ontario - 1984 Olympic gold medalist in shooting.^[18]
• Ben Johnson - Toronto, Ontario - Day 37 - Canadian Olympic Sprinter.^[19]
• Angella Taylor-Issajenko - Toronto, Ontario - Day 37 - Canadian sprinter and silver medalist at the 1984 Olympic Games.^[19]
• Maurice Vachon - Montreal, Quebec - Canadian wrestler in the 1948 Summer Olympics and professional wrestler.^[20]
• Marilyn Brain - Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan - Canadian rower silver medalist in 1984 Summer Olympics.^[21]
• Lori Fung - Vancouver, British Columbia - Canadian gymnast won gold medal in 1984 Summer Olympics.^[22]

Date	Locations visited[23]	Map
November 17	Newfoundland and Labrador: Signal Hill	Signal Hill Holyrood
November 18	Holyrood
November 21	Nova Scotia: Antigonish	Antigonish Port Dufferin Cole Harbour
November 22	Port Dufferin
November 23	Cole Harbour
November 25	Prince Edward Island: Wood Islands	Wood Islands
November 26	New Brunswick: Cape Tormentine Port Elgin Nova Scotia: Amherst New Brunswick: Sackville Dorchester St. Joseph Dieppe Moncton[24]	Cape Tormentine Dieppe Hampton Oromocto Woodstock Grand Falls
November 27	Moncton Riverview Salisbury Petitcodiac Sussex Apohaqui Norton Hampton[24]
November 28	Hampton Quispamsis Saint John Grand Bay Oromocto[24]
November 29	Oromocto Fredericton Woodstock[24]
November 30	Woodstock Hartland Florenceville Bristol Bath Perth-Andover Grand Falls[24]
December 1	Grand Falls Edmundston Saint-Jacques[24]
December 2	Quebec: Cabano	Cabano Kamouraska
December 3	Kamouraska
December 4	Quebec City	Quebec City Donnacona Shawinigan Sorel-Tracy Victoriaville Bromptonville St. Pie Iberville Montreal Laval Lachute Hull
December 5	Donnacona
December 6	Shawinigan
December 7	Sorel-Tracy
December 8	Victoriaville
December 9	Bromptonville
December 10	St. Pie
December 11	Iberville
December 12	Montreal
December 13	Montreal
December 14	Laval
December 15	Lachute
December 16	Hull
December 17	Ontario: Cornwall	Cornwall Brockville Millhaven Colborne Omemee Pickering Toronto Clarkson Brantford Stoney Creek Fort Erie Dunnville Aylmer Rodney Leamington Tecumseh Chatham Reece's Corners London Kitchener Orangeville
December 18	Brockville
December 19	Millhaven
December 20	Colborne
December 21	Omemee
December 22	Pickering
December 23	Toronto
December 24	Clarkson
December 25	Brantford
December 26	Stoney Creek
December 27	Fort Erie
December 28	Dunnville
December 29	Aylmer
December 30	Rodney
December 31	Leamington
January 1	Tecumseh
January 2	Chatham
January 3	Reece's Corners
January 4	London
January 5	Kitchener
January 6	Orangeville
January 7	Shanty Bay	Shanty Bay Callander McKerrow Nipigon Shabaqua Corners Dryden
January 8	Callander
January 9	McKerrow
January 12	Nipigon
January 13	Shabaqua Corners
January 14	Dryden Manitoba: Ste. Anne outskirts of Winnipeg[25]
January 15	Winnipeg Elie Portage la Prairie MacGregor Carberry outskirts of Brandon[25]	Winnipeg Brandon
January 16	Brandon Oak Lake Virden Elkhorn[25] Saskatchewan: Whitewood Grenfell Indian Head[26]
January 17	Indian Head Regina Moose Jaw Davidson[26][27]	Indian Head Davidson
January 18	Davidson Bladworth Kenaston Hanley Dundurn Saskatoon Warman Hague Rosthern Duck Lake Prince Albert[27]
January 19	Northwest Territories: Yellowknife Yukon: Whitehorse	Yellowknife Whitehorse
January 20	British Columbia: Prince George	Prince George
January 21	Courtenay	Courtenay Nanaimo Victoria Vancouver
January 22	Nanaimo
January 23	Victoria
January 24	Vancouver
January 25	Clearbrook	Clearbrook Spuzzum
January 26	Spuzzum
January 27	Ashcroft Manor Ranch	Ashcroft Manor Ranch Monte Creek Kelowna
January 28	Monte Creek
January 29	Kelowna
January 30	Oliver	Oliver
January 31	Greenwood	Greenwood Warfield
February 1	Warfield
February 2	Creston	Creston Cranbrook Sparwood
February 3	Cranbrook
February 4	Sparwood
February 5	Alberta: Brocket	Brocket Lethbridge Bow Island Lloydminster Grande Prairie Namao Wetaskiwin Red Deer Airdrie Calgary
February 6	Lethbridge
February 7	Bow Island
February 8	Lloydminster
February 9	Grande Prairie
February 10	Namao
February 11	Wetaskiwin
February 12	Red Deer
February 13	Airdrie Calgary

• Hobson, Alan (1988). Share the flame: the official retrospective book of the Olympic torch relay. Vancouver: Murray/Love Productions. ISBN 0-921061-15-3.
• Findling, John E.; Pelle, Kimberly D., eds. (1996). Historical dictionary of the modern Olympic movement. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-28477-6.
• OCO'88 (1988), XV Olympic Winter Games: Official Report (in English and French), XV Olympic Winter Games Organizing Committee, ISBN 0-921060-26-2