The Beijing Olympic Torch Relay will be held in Hong Kong on May 2 and the Force is now finishing off its preparations for the event. The Olympic Flame is the second most readily identifiable symbol of the Olympics after the five interlocking rings and the Torch Relay is the immediate precursor to this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing.

The Torch Relay has been staged prior to every summer Olympics since 1936 and the current format sees a flame lit in Olympia in Greece traversing the world before being used to light the cauldron in Beijing at the Opening Ceremony on August 8.

This year's Torch Relay will see the flame carried on a worldwide tour through 20 cities in five continents before arriving in Hong Kong. After the Torch Relay in Hong Kong, the Olympic Flame will make its way to Macao before beginning its journey through Mainland cities.

With a total of 21,880 Torch Bearers, the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay will be the longest ever. In Hong Kong alone, there will be 120 Torch Bearers running about 180 metres each through some of Hong Kong's most easily recognisable and iconic features. In addition to the running, the Torch Relay will also have three celebration events: a Launching Ceremony at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in the morning, a Community Celebration in the Sha Tin Race Course at lunch time and a Closing Ceremony at the Golden Bauhinia Square in the evening.

The Torch Relay is being jointly organised by the Home Affairs Bureau and the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, whilst within the Force preparations are being coordinated by the Equestrian Events Planning Team from Operations Wing. As a major event covering some of the busiest areas of Hong Kong, the priorities for the planners are to ensure that the event is held safely for all participants and that inconvenience to the public is minimised as far as possible.

In addition to the Planning Team, Regions and Districts have been heavily involved in the detailed preparations within their own areas whilst a number of units from Police Headquarters are also involved. Work to date has primarily consisted of route preparations, site visits and checking the times allocated for each section. Force members have been kept abreast of developments through the Strategic Briefing Series and the Webcorner on POINT.

With the event itself just around the corner, preparations have entered their final stage. A trial of the route involving simulated vehicles and Torch Bearers was held in the early hours of April 7, after which valuable lessons were learned leading to refinements to the route and plan. A "Community Torch Relay" to promote Olympism in the community will also be held on April 18. This event, mimicking the Olympic Torch Relay in every detail, will offer a further opportunity to polish the various constituent parts of the event, thereby ensuring that the best options for a safe event with minimum disruption are selected.

The Torch Relay is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many Hong Kong people, given the last occasion it passed through the territory was in 1964 as part of the Tokyo Olympics. The Force is doing its part to ensure that the event will be a safe one that Hong Kong can be proud of and will showcase the territory to the world.

The Olympic Torch Relay Planning Exercise in progress in the PHQ Multi-purpose Hall