An integral part of the Children of Asia Games is the Torch Relay. The Games’ flame is traditionally lit in the Lena Pillars Nature Park, located in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia). This sacred place holds special significance for the Yakutian people. During the ritual ceremony, an elder lights the flame using stones from the Lena Pillars, blesses it, and then passes it to a child, symbolizing the purity of soul and thought. From the moment the Children of Asia Games flame is lit, and throughout its entire relay route, the flame is safeguarded by dedicated guardians.
Flame Lighting and Torch Relay Highlights in Numbers:
-The flame lighting ceremony for the 7th Children of Asia Games, held in Vladivostok in 2022, took place on June 4, 2022, in the Lena Pillars Nature Park in the Khangalass District of Yakutia. On June 27, the flame, accompanied by guardians, reached Primorsky Krai, and on June 30, the Torch Relay began. The relay covered a distance of 3,500 kilometers, passing through 34 municipalities in Primorsky Krai, with the participation of 348 torchbearers.
- The flame lighting ceremony for the 2nd Winter Children of Asia Games was held on January 21, 2023, once again at the Lena Pillars Nature Park, the birthplace of the Games in Yakutia. The Torch Relay started in Yakutsk on January 22, 2023, and the flame, accompanied by guardians, was delivered to the Games’ host region, Kuzbass. The relay route included all four host cities: Novokuznetsk, Mezhdurechensk, Tashtagol, and Kemerovo. In total, the Winter Games Torch Relay passed through five cities—Yakutsk, Novokuznetsk, Mezhdurechensk, Tashtagol, and Kemerovo—covering 695.5 kilometers with the participation of 87 torchbearers.
- The 8th Children of Asia Games Flame Lighting Ceremony was held on March 19, 2024, at the Lena Pillars Nature Park in Yakutia, exactly 100 days before the start of the competition. The relay began on March 20 in Pokrovsk, the birthplace of the Games’ founder, Mikhail Nikolayev, and concluded on June 26 at the Opening Ceremony in Tuymaada Stadium, Yakutsk. The Torch Relay spanned 36 municipalities in Yakutia, traveling a remarkable distance of over 37,000 kilometers—the equivalent of a round-the-world journey. A total of 974 volunteers and 550 torchbearers participated in the Torch Relay for the 8th Children of Asia Games.
