Media Advisory - TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games Torch Relay to Celebrate in Richmond on June 14

Pan Am flame to soar on Grouse Mountain before visiting Stanley Park, Britannia Shipyards and the Richmond Olympic Oval for evening celebration

RICHMOND, BC, June 9, 2015 /CNW/ - On a day featuring multiple Canadian Olympic champions, the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games Torch Relay, presented by President's Choice® and OLG, will travel to Richmond, BC, and the surrounding area on Sunday, June 14, to follow the spirit of Vancouver 2010.

The Pan Am flame will begin Day 16 of the relay at Grouse Mountain before paying a visit to Stanley Park and Jack Poole Plaza, where the Vancouver 2010 Olympic cauldron still stands. The flame will then travel to the Britannia Shipyards, a National Historic Site of Canada, before making its way by rowboat to the Richmond Olympic Oval. The relay will conclude with an evening celebration at the Richmond Olympic Oval where Simon Whitfield, four-time Olympic triathlete, Olympic gold and silver medallist and Pan Am Games bronze medallist, will light the community cauldron.

Sunday, June 14, 2015 (Relay Day 16: Richmond, BC)

Grouse Mountain – 11:30 a.m. (PT)
Photo opportunity:

• Torchbearer Stuart McLaughlin (paraglider) will carry the Pan Am flame

Stanley Park – 12:30 p.m. (PT) (3243 Stanley Park Drive, Vancouver)
Photo opportunity:

• Torchbearer Ashleigh McIvor DeMerit, Olympic gold medallist in skiing, will carry the Pan Am flame

Jack Poole Plaza – 1:30 p.m. (PT) (1055 Canada Place, Vancouver)
Photo opportunity:

• Torchbearer Bernice Cherney will carry the Pan Am flame

Britannia Shipyards, National Historic Site of Canada – 5:25 p.m. (PT) (5180 Westwater Drive, Richmond)
Photo opportunity:

• Torchbearer Eric Wang, TO2015 public contest winner, will arrive carrying the Pan Am flame

UBC Rowing Club – 6:15 p.m. (PT) (7101-7339 River Road, Richmond)
Photo opportunity:

• Torchbearer Emmalai Page will carry the Pan Am flame in a rowboat

Richmond Olympic Oval – (6111 River Road, Richmond)
Evening celebration:

• Pan Am flame to arrive at 7 p.m. carried by Simon Whitfield, four-time Olympic triathlete, Olympic gold and silver medallist and Pan Am Games bronze medallist
• Nikki Yanofsky to perform at the celebration

The Pan Am Games Torch Relay is a 41-day journey that will share the Pan Am spirit in more than 130 communities. The torch relay is one of the most exciting events as it sets the stage leading up to the Games.  There will be more than 3,000 torchbearers and 180 community celebrations taking place.

SOURCE Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games

Jessica Foley, Coordinator, digital media, TO2015, 416.254.5128, [email protected]