Sochi 2014 Torch Relay route revealed

More than 1,500 torchbearers will get the opportunity to carry the Paralympic torch.

On Thursday (7 March), Russia celebrated one year to go until the country hosts its first Paralympic Winter Games, revealing the Paralympic Torch Relay route and Paralympic pictograms at the Red Square Ice Rink in Moscow.

The relay will last 10 days from 26 February - 7 March 2014, travelling through 43 cities across all eight federal regions of Russia. More than 1,500 torchbearers will get the opportunity to carry the Paralympic torch.

Details of the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Torch relay are available at www.torchrelay.sochi2014.com/Paralympic.

Every day, the Paralympic flame will be lit simultaneously in several Russian cities, so that at the end of the relay, thanks to the Paralympic flame "unification" ceremony, it will reach the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Sochi.

In Moscow, celebrations were held in Red Square, where the presentation of the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Torch Relay route and the official Paralympic Games pictograms took place. During the ceremony, the General Partners of the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games were announced. World industry leaders, such as Coca-Cola, Dow, General Electric (GE), Samsung and Visa obtained their honorary diplomas from the President and CEO of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko.

Chernyshenko said: "Today, we are all celebrating one year to the start of the Paralympic Games in Sochi, and we can be extremely proud about preparations for them. We can see Sochi transforming into a real capital of the Russian barrier-free environment. Number of ramps, accessible crossings and adapted vehicle transport in the city is growing rapidly.

"All sports venues of the Mountain and Coastal Clusters are being constructed according to accessibility requirements and are fully adapted for the Paralympic athletes’ needs, this has already been proven by the Paralympic test events."