Olympic torch delayed by Toronto protesters

The Olympic torch relaywasdelayedand forced totake a different route to Toronto's city centre Thursday eveningafter a crush of protestersralliedagainst the Games.

The Olympic flame did eventually make it to its final destination at Nathan Phillips Square in downtown Toronto at around 8 p.m., an hour behind schedule. After it arrived, Olympic hockey star Vicky Sunohara carried the torch tothe centre of the square and lit a cauldron before thousands of cheering spectators.

"The task of lighting the cauldron at Nathan Phillips Square is a huge privilege for me," she said earlier.

The cauldron will stay lit until the end of the Games.

Not everyone was happy about the presence of the torch in Toronto. Protesters gathered at UniversityAvenue and College Street at about 5:15 p.m. and moved eastward. By about 6:15 p.m. they had spilled onto Yonge Street between Collegeand Dundas Street.

Police cleared Yongewhile torchbearers waited to ensure the path had cleared. At 7 p.m., therelay was held up just southYongeand Bloor streets.

Instead of following the planned route south onYonge to College,the relaymoved west on Wellesley Street, thensouth on University Avenue, turningon Gerrard Street and stopping at the Hospital for Sick Children.

Scores of people cheered the flame as a torchbearer entered the hospital atrium. Several runners who missed their chance to carry the torch on the planned route passed the flame from torch to torch in the hospital.

The relay then continued east along Gerrardbefore turning south on Yonge atabout 7:30 p.m.

Group decries 'colonial theft'

A group that publishes a website titled no2010.com said more than 100 peoplewere expected totake part inthe protest.

"The Olympics Torch is about colonial theft of indigenous land, corporate profit grabbing, ecological destruction, militarization and migrant exploitation," said a release on the site titled "No 2010 Olympics on Stolen Native Land."

"Take up the fight for Indigenous Sovereignty! Migrant Justice! Climate Justice! Income Equality!"

It was not immediately clear if other groups were involved in the protest, which delayed the relay by about an hour.

The torch'sarrival in Torontokicks off a weekend series of events to whip up excitement for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in February.

Elite athletes weren't the only ones carrying the torch through Canada's most populous city. In most cases, the torchbearerswere ordinary people chosen because of their community service.

But celebrities also participated in the relay, evensome who never thought they would get the chance to run with the flame that symbolizes athletic achievement.

Celebrities galore

Thousands of people braved the cold to catch a glimpse of the Olympic torch being carried by numerous runners, including father and son filmmakers Ivan and Jason Reitman, Olympic rower Marnie McBean, ballet dancer Karen Kain and Roberta Bondar, Canada's first female astronaut.

When Ivan Reitman finished his leg of the relay, he lit his son's torch and the two men embraced.

Jason Reitman said he had tears in his eyes the whole way.

"I've been trying not to cry this entire time and this is just extraordinary," he said. "I can't tell you what it feels like to hold the Olympic flame. It's bigger than you can imagine."

Toronto filmmaker Deepa Mehta was surprised when she was chosen.

"I was absolutely thrilled because when I was growing up I was considered and I guess I still am a real nerd," she told CBC News. "I was one of those kids that nobody ever picked for their teams.I'm so unsporty.

"Then I got this invite and I thought, 'My God, this is wonderful.'"

Earlier in the day, the torch relay touched down in communities in the eastern Greater Toronto Area. Hundreds turned out in Oshawa, Whitby, Markham and Stouffville to seeneighbours, friends and family carry the long white torches through their communities.

Thursday marks the 49th day of the 106-day, 45,000-kilometre national relay leading up to the Games.