On June 23, organizers of the 2008 Olympics unveiled plans to recruit nearly 22,000 torchbearers for next year's torch relay, almost double the number that took part in the Athens 2004 torch relay.

The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) will start recruiting 21,880 torchbearers worldwide on June 23, including 19,400 from the Chinese mainland and 2,480 in overseas cities and Taipei, Hong Kong and Macao, Zhang Ming, Director of BOCOG's Olympic Torch Relay Center, told reporters.

Under the theme "Journey of Harmony" and the slogan "Light the Passion, Share the Dream," the torchbearer selection program aims to involve the public. It will recruit a group of torchbearers who are the most deserving and worthy of carrying the Olympic flame within their communities.

There are two routes for such a worldwide selection process, according to the program. The first one is done through recommendations by various organizations and institutions. The second is an open process, in which public recommendations are accepted. Additionally, 5,000 escort runners will be selected on the Chinese mainland exclusively for this portion of the relay.

The previous highest number of torchbearers was 13,300 for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Atlanta in 1996 had almost the same number as Sydney, while Athens recruited 12,102. Montreal in 1976 used just 1,214 torchbearers, BOCOG said.

Based on International Olympic Committee (IOC) regulations, Olympic convention, and an agreement reached by BOCOG, IOC, the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC), and Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay Presenting Partners, the selection entities will include provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities; the COC (including the Mount Qomolangma team); Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay Presenting Partners; the Olympic Family (including IOC, NOCs, and IFs); overseas cities and Taipei, Hong Kong and Macao; and BOCOG.

The aforementioned entities will select torchbearers through an internal nomination and/or open process.

Selection by internal nomination means that the selection entities nominate candidate torchbearers within their administrative areas or organizational systems and carry out the review and appraisal process.

For the open registration process the selection entities will design selection criteria and registration procedure, as well as registration forms available to the public. The selection entities may employ one or both selection methods at their discretion.

The selection criteria for the Olympic torchbearers have been formulated on the basis of principles set forth by the IOC and past Games practices. For the relay on the mainland, torchbearers should meet many requirements, ranging from good moral standards to outstanding achievements.

The Beijing Olympic Games Escort Runner Program has been launched with the objective of using the Olympic torch relay to promote Olympic education. It is hoped that it will encourage Chinese youth to understand, support and participate in the Olympics, and present the world with a good image of China's younger generation. The mission of the escort runners is to assist the torchbearers, especially those with a disability, to pass on the flame.

According to Olympic tradition, the Olympic flame will be lit in ancient Olympia, Greece, on March 25, 2008. The 137,000-km, 130-day torch relay will travel across Greece to the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, the site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

A handover ceremony will be held in the stadium before sending the Olympic flame to Beijing on March 31, 2008.

One torch will carry the flame to dozens of cities in five continents, while a special high-altitude torch will carry the flame to the 8,844-meter high summit of Mount Qomolangma in May.

The torch relay will culminate in the lighting of the cauldron in the Olympic stadium August 8, 2008 at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games in the 91,000-seat National Stadium. The identity of the last torchbearer is one of the best-kept secrets of the Olympic Games.

BOCOG has listed Taiwan Province in the torch relay route and set aside 120 torchbearer spots for the island, but the Taiwanese authorities have refused to let the torch pass through. So far no agreement has been reached between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan over the issue.