you guessed it to the jets well head of. it was supposed to be just another news or of course although admittedly for a special occasion it was one hundred twenty three days before the start of the winter olympic games in sochi and i was in greece for the lighting of the olympic flame the ruins of elim pierre one of the most famous monuments of ancient greece the site of the very first olympic games where stones like this would have been part of the temple. the temple of the. temple laws.

well that was all rather surreal. definitely the way to stream i've had for a while. there was a memorable ceremony. with one pretty sure the high priestess never spoke to me. what was it she sent full of the flame or something. there's. a lot more of course at base. the top story this morning than the sochi twenty pulteney olympic flame of the bride in moscow seven days after it was in the ancient greek city of elim carried by russia's deputy prime minister dimitri cool with ak the flame traveled in a small amount into red square where president vladimir putin spoke of its meaning for the russian people in the olympic village the symbol of the world's primary sports competition of peace and of friendship. but he has come to russia. there are many marks the start of the longest tools relay in a limb take

a street the same good scrape this so many people have turned out to the start of the russian really it looks like a lot of fun out there. in a minute. but it was. the stone i picked up in and it was on my mantel piece and if that isn't a sign i don't know what it is. i knew i had to get down to red square and experienced atmosphere for myself fortunately they were having a two day event. so from sunny greece to rather soggy moscow just at the very start of the torch is journey around the whole of russia i'm excited. the days first run there was paralympic star alessio bloody who picks up two gold medals in the beijing and london games. we do call him peace talks to him big

gold medals is there still something special for you i guess of course it's a unique feeling because i had never carried the torch before. at first i ran with it quite easily then i felt i was becoming heavier and heavier but i was determined to carry it properly and show it to everyone so that they could all appreciate the moment. and the crowd's reaction words factious i missed out on going to my home games in london and i was determined not to let such a twenty four team passed me by there were fourteen thousand torchbearers slots up for grabs one of them was going to be mine. when we were making the technical order for the factory we say look let's make the thing we want to her. you know whole it also desirable to be like.

a lot of questions where or. wait it's quite a bit we have to take all. and in the middle the. extra weight of the aluminum so it's really fine. if the feather feather over the period the birth of her book in the russian. stories and fairy tales and to get this feather from the firebird is a super challenge. the

problem can be. underneath here and it just caused the fire but in this case we have a special. insight which melting and the like really a red color. and it's the fire so basically it's a rift fire in itself. i was going to have to wait a while before i found out if i'd been picked as a torch bearer more than enough time to try and learn a little more about my mysterious stone. some of russia's most eminent geologists live in. the center of russia's diamond

industry on the rocks down here on the most expensive in the country. the pits descends more than a kilometer under the earth and uses the most sophisticated drilling equipment on the market to get to the precious. once the stones have been taken to a sorting sense and closely examined each rough gem is appraised and valued and i had a close family focused on my precious two. must be some kind of. there i can see small crystals here proving that it's ancient rock. but really it should light up should

it. know it's fast but it's luminescent as from. ok maybe you could make it luminescent if you really believed it right thank you did you really expect it to go. maybe maybe i'm just not right. there's certainly something very special about this and this ground i don't know but it might just be because they use to pulling glittering thing this out of the dark here. but who wants minis diamonds with the top attraction in turn it was time to head towards the city's most well known landmark where they were getting ready to welcome some very special guests. from all in forty years these huge realized trucks one of the most famous symbols in your couture carrying

the region's diamonds from its quarries and factories and now. it's getting ready for its most important passenger ever. did most have been close to minus forty celsius but these are limping torches and torchbearers made of stern stuff. this huge quarry has been the frozen heartbeat of the city for more than fifty years producing more than seventeen billion dollars diamonds my stone it meant i was here to watch the parade but what was i supposed to do next and our great shot . lives so where to mate with it. and again show me the way.

by carlo. choice. they can be few more famous natural landmarks in russia than lake baikal the oldest and deep this lake on the planet on the site of a very special olympic celebration. for the first time ever they're planning to light the olympic flame on the water. in this case your average tool which isn't going to cut it so special equipment is required and special people to carry is and who better than the local rescue ranger . our professional activity is mostly dedicated to rescuing people on lake baikal our job is important difficult interesting and in

a way romantic my cow has many faces in winter it's tough and in summer it's beautiful you can't help but admire its power it attracts you and it's very important to me because it's a jewel of russia. everything's ready let's go then as nicholas puts the final touches to his equipment the excitement begins to build along the water's edge. the torch rallies have been warmly welcomed across the country but the crowds here are about to witness something that's never been done before. and there's plenty of local show on hands went to tame them while they wait. a massive noise and color to cheer the torch bearers all. this torch is based on a special system there is a pyrotechnic charge that can burn at any depth in any temperature and under any

circumstances. why do when it's under water it's like a second sun the flame literally illuminates the entire lake. autumn when you curious you can feel its enormous power. of the water temperature is four degrees celsius it's really freezing we could feel it on our uncovered faces but we were united by this flame that had absorbed the energy of the entire country of every single person who cares about the flame that was what united us and that's why everything went perfectly. as i watched for miles on the water you could almost feel the crowd's energy coming across the waves it had been another remarkable spectacle for this record breaking

tool tree and i was wondering what could possibly top it. looks like on the right track. so what well but. it. looks like if you go to juneau the price is the only industry specifically mentioned in the constitution and. that's because a free and open press is critical to our democracy correct albus. in fact the single biggest threat facing our nation today is the corporate takeover of our government and our crass cynical we've been hijacked by handful of transnational corporations that will profit by destroying what our founding fathers once i'm job market and on this show we reveal the big picture of what's actually

going on in the world we go beyond identifying the problem try rational debate and . real discussion critical issues facing the ever ready to join the movement. i marinate join me. for in-depth impartial and. commentary interview and much much. only on bass and i. might move from one ship to another but what

a ship. i was on board the ice breaker fifty years of victory the pride of the russian nuclear fleet for a truly once in a lifetime experience. deliberate flame was traveling to the north pole but i was going with. it my stone was telling me to follow the flame i was going to take it as far as i could. see hundred nautical miles of stark beautiful ocean lay between us and the top of the world. well just in case you didn't actually believe we were going to the north pole i think that eliminates any doubt. it's another historic first for the sochi torch and a relay around the ship was planned for the occasion. and you can learn so many new things but if you get the chance to test your own as well as the crew has experience with. the ice breaker is really capable of. i mean this tour of the olympic torch to the north pole never before has

a surface ship gone there so late in the season that the ice was much heavier and to cope with it. we almost needed the ice breakers maximum power. we were making incredible progress slicing through the thick polar ice like bazza and after only four days we were already near our destination that's a world record pace. we made it. less to do ninety degrees north and sit top of the world. ah. once the champagne had been finished everything kicked into gear the torch bearers

went off to get ready and our organizing committee began making preparations for the relay and we love the one on the other one and. tried to hold it the right way all. right but what. with everyone in position we were ready to go and our captain was given the owner of starting off the run my main task was to keep the torch warm and make sure it goes into pat's hand in time and just seconds later she was away and i was on collection she said. i think that's me now. thank you very much yes i got to take a look off the list and return it later. i wasn't good. yeah go through it no slips. no. we stepped off the ship and on to the ice the torches glow flickering through the

pitch black polar nights. the pioneering soviet polar explorer. would ignite the culture of the most northerly place on the planet . it's not often you get witness a moment of history this is the first time for the olympic flame it's ever been at the north pole. and i'm here to see it. from the north as it's possible to go it was time to head east with the olympic gold in lies in committee. the flame the ip that is has its own security team at all times not to mention its own private jets. who got this special service with the flame keeper which is just responsible for the security of the flame the keep the

flames a little. on this special will you know that all of these flame will never go off. for. each city's greasing ceremony is unique and hundreds of volunteers helped make the occasion memorable. there's a possibility also to keep the security for the torchbearer you know nobody will homie nobody will get this fish. place just. because he's just a flame it's very dangerous for everybody. this is come shot of a peninsula that's one of the most easterly places in russia. that is the whole the highest so that you don't burn yourself when your torches lit are going. for the

loot fortune never talks to the flaming torch bearer in russia because you never. everybody every had an inhabitant of the cities just very proud that comes to his cd i must say that i feel a chanel free of. it was the end of another relay and i was in one of the most beautiful places in the country on the shores of the pacific itself but i was beginning to lose patience. i've come to the end of. what's. what do you want. where am i to go.

i literally run the house of land. but the torch would move all over the mountains across the sea. even else of this world. we live. in yes another historic moment it paid a visit to the international space station more than four hundred kilometers above the planet. and although safety reasons made lycee its on board a heavily fueled rocket summer all the bad idea the world's first olympic spacewalk was no problem. back down i was getting some inspiration of my own.

yes. i come so far with the torch i was going to have to see it through to the end i'd watched so many different people in relays all over russia and even beyond now i was going to have my own moments with the symbol of the sochi games i was a new father in the south of the country in under two hours i was going to be a torch bearer. for my fictional uniform. it was time to suit up pick up the most vital piece of equipment. i think. that's make. up of their english training thank you. but.

more than two hundred of us would be running through the streets and the excitement was already beginning to build there was just time for a few tips on how to make the most of the moment. smile and wave your hand then they put out my torch and i stepped back and i'm not there anymore it's your turn you start and i be in the car that will be filming us starts to move and we run towards it ok going to. the russians are. none of us could wait to get started on the pulse he was in full swing as we moved through the city thousands of people had turned out to cheer us all and watch the parade and we even had a few guests from the north pole putting in an appearance. we were dropping off

people every two hundred meters so i just had a few minutes to. my neighbor cotton mill. you can really imagine how exciting it is. looking forward to the moment when the whole country will see me it was. honestly i can't believe it. did school was freezing today isn't it. planned so let's meet our troops. as i wave to the crowd i hadn't expected to be so nervous my whole epic journey led to this moment and as i waited for the number one million three to post me the flame all i could think of was for goodness sake don't drop it. the dream come true i missed all the atmosphere of the london two thousand and

twelve games i never thought of the gods to be part of another game and now i'm the only person in the world going to play with this moment. i am. i think i finally understand that. i'm going to little further to go on with this tour. i was with it when it was for the very first time in a limpia increase it went deep underground into the diamond mines. i was with it when it plunged into the waters of lake baikal and i was with it when the wins but it didn't have the very top of the world and then it went out of this one holds the

international space station. to believe. if you could combine the four elements of . you could turn space metal into goals this tool which has all of those elements even a fifth element the quintessence from space itself but i believe that this torch has the energy to help you win gold in sochi. russia believe in us.

now the power is in our hands. the shots are forced. to finish line up. on.

technology innovation all the least developments from around russia we've got the future covered. players play. politically plz. plz . plz. crosstalk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want to.

play. play. play. there's a medium leave us so we leave that maybe. by the same motion security play your party there's a little push is that no one is asking with the guests that you deserve answers from. politicking only on our team. player.

it's a classic. did you know the price is the only industry specifically mentioned in the constitution and. that's because a free and open press is critical to our democracy shrek office. told. them you know i'm sorry and on this show we reveal the picture of what's actually going on we go beyond identifying the truth rational debate real discussion critical issues facing up to five ready to join the movement and walk up to the big picture. but i'm tolerant of washington d.c. and here's what's coming up tonight on the big picture.