When the Olympic Torch Relay visited Toronto on December 17 to 19, 2009, thousands of Torontonians of all ages lined city streets to cheer on the Olympic Flame and attended the Community Celebration at Nathan Phillips Square on December 17.

The Community Celebration at Nathan Phillips Square showcased acts by Toronto singer and songwriter Suzie McNeil, the Canadian Tenors, world champion hoop dancer Lisa Odjig, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, an Extreme Trampoline snowboard and ski show, and an acrobatic performance by Suspended Animation Circus . The highlight of the show was the lighting of the cauldron by Toronto’s Final Torchbearer, Olympic medal winner Vicky Sunohara. The night concluded with an amazing fireworks display by company Circus Orange.

The Community Celebration was not the only special event was held while the Olympic Flame was in Toronto. An event was also held at Scarborough Civic Centre on the afternoon of December 17. School children, families and office workers enjoyed entertainment and interactive sporting activities, including buskers, musicians, a sledge hockey demonstration and much more put on by the City.

The Olympic Torch Relay was a once-in-a-lifetime event that brought the spirit of the games to Toronto. Close to 200 torchbearers, including Canadian film directors, father and son Ivan and Jason Reitman, Olympians such as hockey players Vicky Sunohara and Murray Dowey, sailor Paul Henderson and rower Marnie McBean, along with hundreds of everyday Canadians, carried the Olympic Flame for 48 kilometres through city neighbourhoods.

The Olympic Torch Relay ends in Vancouver on February 12 with the beginning of the Olympic Games.