UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN-HABITAT Anna Tibaijuka lights the flame cauldron.

       (DAR ES SALAAM, April 13) -- The former capital of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, hosted a successful torch relay on April 13, supported by thousands of fans who crowded the streets to welcome the sacred flame.

       Since the torch relay tradition began in 1936, this is the first time that an eastern African country has hosted the sacred flame. In this year's torch relay, Tanzania is the only African country on the worldwide route.

       On Sunday, Dar es Salaam's clouds were heavy with water; sure enough, rain drops pounded down on the streets of the city prior to the start of the relay. Intermittent drizzle continued after the first torchbearer, Tanzanian Minister of State for Union Affairs in Vice President's Office Mohamed Seif Khatib successfully passed the torch.

       From the Dar es Salaam railway station of the TAZARA to the Tanzanian National Stadium, 80 torchbearers traveled the five-kilometer route without any major incidents.

       UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN-HABITAT Anna Tibaijuka delivered the sacred flame to its final destination in Africa, the Tanzanian National Stadium, where Liu Jingmin, Vice-Mayor of Beijing and Executive Vice-President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) gave a speech describing the friendship between China and Tanzania.

       On Sunday evening, the flame will take off for destination number nine on the global relay route, Muscat, Oman.