The Olympic torch soon heads for St. Petersburg -- the third leg of the torch relay¹. The flame will arrive in the Russian city on April 5th, after passing through Almaty and Istanbul.

The head of the St. Petersburg Sports and Physical Culture Committee says the Olympic torch will be carried along a 20 kilometer route. It will begin at Ploshchad Pobedy and pass famous sights such as the Mariinsky Theater and the Bronze Horseman. Among the 80 torch bearers will be many Russian Olympic champions, as well as representatives of public organizations and sponsors. Chinese Ambassador² to Russia, Liu Guchang, will be one of them.

Russian Olympic torch bearers said, "I'm very honored to be chosen as a torch bearer. I want to thank BOCOG for picking St. Petersburg as a leg of the torch relay. I believe Beijing will host a very successful Olympics."