Less than a week after Lhasa burned, the Beijing Olympics organising committee (BOCOG) is holding firm to its plans to take the Olympic flame to Tibet. Carrying the torch to the summit of Everest will be "the highlight" of the 2008 torch relay, top official Jiang Xiaoyu told reporters. The flame is due to start its journey on Monday at Olympia in Greece; the official slogan, settled long ago, is "Journey of Harmony". Tibetan activists and exiles who have rallied outside Chinese embassies this week seem unlikely to heed this message. After the last few days, however, BOCOG must long for the time when the sight of a 'Free Tibet' T-shirt on camera was its worst nightmare.

The ascent of Everest will be a "great feat in Olympic history", said BOCOG executive vice president Jiang Xiaoyu. As he described the logistics, it became clear that summiting Everest is set to be the grandest moment in the long pre-Olympic drumroll, short of the opening ceremony itself. The flame will be divided so that one torch can continue around China while the other is carried to Everest. Weather conditions cloud the timing, but on the day the torch ascends the peak BOCOG will suspend the other leg of the relay in line with International Olympic Committee (IOC) rules. The waiting and watching will create a perfect format for breathless media attention. The flame will then go to Lhasa to await its other half. Their reunion will be another media moment. There will be plentiful references to the torch relay's official "message of friendship, peace and harmony". It must have seemed like a good idea at the time.