Torch relay to return?
China鈥檚 plans to bring the torch relay back to London at the end of August, to mark this summer's Paralympics, will certainly meet with a distinct lack of enthusiasm from many in the Paralympic movement.
The Chinese plan, first broached with the British Paralympic Association last autumn, is that the torch will be lit in Beijing and then taken on a world tour, albeit a much modified and shorter version of the one followed by the controversial relay, which is now on its worldwide, multi-continent journey.
This second relay would see the torch go to cities which are to become Olympic cities in the next few years. That means paralympic torch relays in Vancouver, which will host the 2010 Winter Olympics, London, the 2012 summer Olympics, and Sochi, which will be the venue for the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The date for London that has been penciled in is 31 August. The British Paralympic Association has confirmed to me that it will discuss with the Chinese how feasible the torch relay will be and it seems highly unlikely it will be anything like the elaborate earlier this month. It could even be a short parade on an open-top bus.
Whatever form the relay takes it will be a Chinese innovation, such a torch relay exclusively for the Paralympics never having been organised before.
The Paralympics does not have its own separate torch relays, they are associated with the main torch relay - part of the efforts by the Olympic movement to build up the idea that the Paralympics, while held a few weeks after the main Olympics, is part of the same festival of elite sport.
The idea has always been to encourage people to think there are not two Olympics but one. London certainly does much to promote that idea for 2012.
Charlie Bethel, the chief executive of the Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Association, has grave doubts whether such a torch relay should take place.
He told me: 鈥淭he first I heard of it was on Friday, I have concerns about our athletes being involved, especially so close to the Games. If there are protests we would not want to put our players in harm's way. None of our players have talked about what is happening in Tibet, they are all concentrating on being selected for the team and going to Beijing. That is their job.
"The question they ask most is 'what is the food going to be like'? They are far removed from the political noise. In any case Paralympic athletes are involved in the Olympic torch run. There should be one torch relay, because it is one Games, one festival of elite sport.
"I was surprised to hear about this additional one. I would be concerned about the safety of our athletes if the torch relay is marked by protests. I would want our elite athletes to be kept out of potential harm鈥檚 way. In any case by 31 August they will be out of the country, either in Singapore or Hong Kong preparing for the Paralympics.鈥
What makes this proposed second torch relay fascinating is it will come a week after the main summer Olympics have ended, and about the time when the International Olympic Committee has promised to start examining the whole concept of international torch relays.
The decision to look again at torch relays was made last week as a result of "the crisis", to use the phrase of IOC president , the current one has created for the Olympic movement. All the indications are future Olympic cities will not be allowed to hold such international torch relays.
As I revealed last week, senior members of the IOC had long ago told the Chinese they did not think an international torch relay was a good idea, but China was keen and the IOC executive board approved the idea. But to have another one a week after the main summer Olympics has ended, however limited in scope, and with the prospect it might rekindle all the controversy the current relay is generating, is not something the Olympic movement might take kindly to.
Mihir Bose's blog is no longer being updated. You can read recent entries about 麻豆官网首页入口 Sport's coverage and insights into the latest issues on the 
Comments