Click on the video above to watch the slideshow ‘Day of the Torch’ by Pete Rockwell

Anti-Olympic Protestors Disrupt Torch Relay

Part Three

The march continued a meandering path for several blocks, then headed straight towards the Legislature. Gordon Campbell had been addressing the small crowd at the evening ceremonies after the torch arrived 20 minutes behind schedule. When the march turned past the Empress Hotel, it came upon a line of more than 50 police officers blocking Government Street with barricades. The protesters stopped. All the street lights were off. It poured rain. The entourage of dozens of officers still lingered with the march itself, and the regiments following the march blocked their retreat. Police formed walls of bodies encircling the march, pushing them in tight. The police helicopter that had been following the march came in low over the museum. The march stood paralyzed like this for only a few minutes, still pushing forward very slowly, when suddenly the police began advancing quickly from the barricades towards the march. When advancing police arrived at the marchers, Campbell finished his speech and officers acted as though they had never meant that the march was not welcome to advance to the legislature.

Upon arriving at the barricades that blocked off the Legislature, the police used fencing to force the march through a narrow entrance into the corral that had been used for the torch procession. The front half of the march proceeded to the stage and the rear struggled to get the torch table and salmon puppet through the tiny opening, finally dismantling the fencing and entering the muddy lawn.

The concert-like evening ceremonies were made up of several dozen youth under the age of 13 standing in costumes in the rain. Half had glowing red umbrellas that were meant to create a heart shape when viewed from above. The other half wore glowing white garbage bag costumes of birds with horns. When asked, none of the youth could indicate what kind of bird they were beyond “some kind of traditional first nations bird.” All of these young volunteers provided their own white shoes. Another group of young volunteers ran around waving glow sticks in the air for nearly fifteen minutes. During the performance, black clad RCMP flanked the
stage and the kids. The concert was a blaring hip-hop act. The heavy beat was raised to a deafening volume. Demonstrators chanted “No Olympics on Stolen Native Land!” over the din. It was pitch dark on the lawn, punctuated by a pyrotechnics show belching up fire big enough to temporarily heat and illuminate the whole vicinity. During the periods of illumination, people stared amazed at the lawn filled almost entirely with police officers.

The march finally drowned out the concert and pulled back all the way to Bastion Square where they broke off into smaller groups, the biggest of which headed back to Centennial Square and rested at the covered area beneath council chambers.

Part Two

Part One

Related Media Links

Protesters make no apologies for disrupting relay
CTV Olympics – November 3, 2009

Olympic protesters are ‘terrorists’: Bloy
Burnaby Newsleader – November 2, 2009

Protesters disrupt Olympic torch route
Ottawa Citizen – October 31, 2009

Anti-Olympic protests force 2010 torch relay to divert in Victoria
The Canadian Press – October 30, 2009

Protest disrupts Olympic torch run
Victoria News – October 30, 2009

Torch relay resumes after protest blocked route
Times Colonist – October 30, 2009

Olympic torch relay kicks off in Victoria
CBC.ca – October 30, 2009

Let the Games begin — but in peace or pain?
The Province – October 30, 2009

Infamous 1936 Olympics had bizarre torch procession
24 Hours Vancouver – October 30, 2009

‘Free speech zones’ elusive at Olympic torch relay kick-off
TheTyee.ca – ?October 28, 2009

Victoria human rights advocate denounces aggressive police and Olympic Torch spending
Vancouver Media Co-op – October 27, 2009

The Torch That Hitler Lit
Globe and Mail – October 24, 2009

NO-2010 Victoria Plans Opposing Torch Relay Celebration
C-FAX 1070 – October 20, 2009

The anti relay
National Post – October 17, 2009

Related Links

Spirit of BC Victoria

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay

Olympic Flame Wikipedia

No2010.com

No2010 Victoria

No2010 Victoria Statement on Torch Relay Disruption

Official Vancouver 2010 Site

International Olympic Committee