The Olympic Flame arrived in Oman's capital of Muscat on Monday morning. And Oman's Olympic Committee says everything is ready, and it is confident the torch relay will proceed smoothly. But some officials say they are angry about the deliberate disruptions to the torch's journey so far.
The Olympic Flame arrived in Oman's capital of Muscat on Monday morning. And Oman''s Olympic Committee says everything is ready, and it is confident the torch relay will proceed smoothly.
An employee of the Oman Olympic Committee is holding Oman's national flag, the Chinese national flag and the Olympic flag. He is excited about the torch relay and says there will be a sea of flags when the torch arrives.
The staff at the OOC have paid attention to every detail and they are sure that the event will be successfully hosted in Oman's capital of Muscat.
They have also organized volunteers to welcome journalists from around the world and have been busy preparing for the relay for almost half a year.
Ali Souad, official of Oman Olympic Committee, said, "We started from last year, year 2007, in October. We prepared for everything, the torch bearers and all the staff. Everything is ready. Even it comes today or now, we are just ready to receive it."
Ali is a former long-distance runner. He is angry about the deliberate disruptions to the torch's journey at some previous legs of the global relay.
Ali Souad said, "I think sport is the smile of the world. It's the peace of the world. I'm guaranteed that nothing will happen here and everything will go smoothly. Torch is our guest, we have to take care of this."
The Olympic torch relay has become the hottest topic in the city. And it is receiving widespread coverage in local newspapers.
Muscat resident Mohammed said, "As a citizen of Oman, I feel very excited that the Olympic torch can pass through Oman. All the people in Oman participated in this event. We will show the best things of our country to the world. "
There are many Chinese companies in Muscat...and employees say they will come to watch the torch relay.
(CCTV, April 15, 2008)