When the Olympic Flame arrives in Penticton on January 25, it will be proudly carried by Susie Welch, nominated as our community torchbearer to light the celebration cauldron for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay.

"We're pleased to announce Susie Welch as Penticton's torchbearer for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games," said Mayor Dan Ashton. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Susie, who is one of 12,000 Canadians chosen to carry the Olympic Flame on the longest domestic torch relay in Olympic history! On January 25th, we want everyone in our community to join together with other Canadians and show the world how inspired we feel by the Olympic Flame and its message of peace, brotherhood and friendship."

To celebrate the arrival of the flame, the community is planning an exciting 4-hour event which will feature and highlight the connections between sport, culture, heritage, and the arts which showcases the best that Penticton has to offer. The theme of the event is Penticton's Olympic Opening Ceremonies and Cultural Olympiad Celebrations.

About an hour into the four-hour celebration program, Susie will carry the Olympic Torch on its final 300 metres to the stage where she will light the 1.3-metre high celebration cauldron, in a move similar to the dramatic highlight of what will occur during the Opening Ceremony for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

The 106-day Olympic Torch Relay, which is presented by Coca-Cola and RBC and supported by the Government of Canada, will visit more than 1,030 communities and places of interest in every province and territory. On February 12, 2010, the Olympic Flame will make its way to downtown Vancouver to light the Olympic Cauldron in a magical and awe-inspiring moment before a television audience of three billion people worldwide, signaling the kick off to the start of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

For more information on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, visit www.vancouver2010.com/torchrelay