Burning an Illusion It Should Have Kindled Sporting Passions Across the World, Instead the Progress of the Olympic Torch has Become a Public Relations Apocalypse, Writes Torcuil Crichton in a Three- Page Sunday Herald Special Report

Summary

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E are pretty much cock-ahoop, " says Anne Holmes of the Free Tibet Campaign, reflecting on a week of publicity that has put her cause at the top of political and news agendas across the globe. "I think the last week has made it clear that China can't have a big Olympics party and expect everyone to celebrate with what is going on in Tibet."

You could tell, as another two protesters fell under a phalanx of running policemen outside the British Library last Sunday morning, that the progress of the Olympic torch through London was not going to be a PR success.

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Burning an Illusion It Should Have Kindled Sporting Passions Across the World, Instead the Progress of the Olympic Torch has Become a Public Relations Apocalypse, Writes Torcuil Crichton in a Three- Page Sunday Herald Special Report

The journey of the "sacred flame" was supposed to be a 58-day celebration of the Olympic spirit and of an ascendant China. As it was borne through 21 countries and across 85,000 miles, the torch was ostensibly being paraded to celebrate the sporting themes of brotherhood and competition. But it was - and there was no doubt about this - a...

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