In Irkutsk, the Olympic torch relay was held on a grand scale. The torch was carried along a 34 kilometer route that drew thousands to the streets despite the frost. The flame visited the station, IrGTU and Baikal Arena, and the final ceremony took place in Kirov Square, where Denis Matsuev and Sergei Eroshchenko lit the cauldron.

The Olympic torch was lit on Irkutsk soil on the stage set up in the station square. The first torchbearer — three-time Deaflympic Games champion in Greco-Roman wrestling Alexander Khaustov — said that he would carry the Olympic relic with pride for the city of Irkutsk, which is taking part in this historic event.
The route of the Olympic Torch Relay in Irkutsk was designed so that as many Irkutsk residents as possible could greet the relay. Deputy Mayor Anton Logashov drove the relay route about half an hour before the Olympic convoy to make sure the city was ready to receive the guests. Despite the cold weather (it was –11 degrees outside), Irkutsk residents greeted the torchbearers along all 34 kilometers of the route, coming out into the streets with their families. The deputy mayor noted that he had not expected to see so many people in the streets and was pleasantly surprised that the city’s residents wanted to take part in the historic event despite the frosty weather. Irkutsk residents photographed the Olympic convoy and wrote about their impressions on forums and blogs. Some spectators ran together with the Olympic flame from the station to the Irkutsk State Technical University building, where the relay made its first stop. People came to see the Olympic flame in Irkutsk from Shelekhov, Angarsk, and Usolye-Sibirskoye.
At the Baikal Arena sports complex, the torch was carried by a member of the Irkutsk Public Chamber, a Paralympian, a Master of Sport in archery, and chairman of the regional organization of the All-Russian Society of Disabled People, Konstantin Shumkov. The athlete and public figure said that he could not believe that the Olympic flame would ever come to Irkutsk. Konstantin Shumkov said he was glad to have the opportunity to carry the Olympic flame — the light of peace and the light of sport.
The final part of the event took place in Kirov Square, where the Olympic flame cauldron on the main stage of Irkutsk was lit by People’s Artist of Russia Denis Matsuev and Governor of the Irkutsk Region Sergei Yeroshchenko. The day before, the official Sochi 2014 Twitter account published Matsuev’s words, in which he admitted that it was easier to play a Tchaikovsky concerto. The Mayor of Irkutsk, Viktor Kondrashov, thanked Irkutsk residents for supporting the Olympic Torch Relay.
The Olympic Torch Relay started in the Irkutsk Region on Saturday. The flame visited the bottom of Lake Baikal, the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, and the Taltsy architectural and ethnographic museum. After Irkutsk, the torch will be delivered to Krasnoyarsk Krai.