Organizers of the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010 were in Halifax Monday to talk about the countrywide Olympic torch relay, and to give the coming Games a boost.

John Furlong, chief executive officer of the Vancouver Olympic Committee, said he's not worried about the level of awareness about the Olympics in Atlantic Canada despite a new survey showing 40 per cent of those polled did not know the event was taking place in Vancouver.

"We have 100 per cent awareness in B.C., we have growing awareness across the country. In terms of Olympic history, we have the highest level of awareness for Winter Olympics, ever. So, it's good," he said at a news conference held at Pier 21.

"Our goal, frankly, is not to be so much concerned about awareness, but more about ownership. What we hope is that when the Olympic flame arrives in Vancouver, that every Canadian will look on and be inspired."

Furlong said he came to the East Coast to show Canadians that he's committed to including everyone in the event, not because he's worried about the survey results.

When the torch relay takes place, he said, it will involve 12,000 Canadians from coast-to-coast and will be the longest route in Olympic history.

"It's the longest ever by a wide margin in any one country. And we could have achieved that with a much lesser relay, but we wouldn't have been able to get as many communities and as many places. We're still working on the route, but I can tell you it will touch more people per capita than any country in the past," Furlong said.

More details of the route will be released in the fall after the Bejing Summer Olympics are over. The relay will take place over 100 days leading up to the Vancouver Games in February 2010.