The longest distance for an Olympic torch relay within one country was 45,000 km (27,961.65 mi) for the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The relay lasted from 30 October 2009 to 12 February 2010. Arriving in Victoria, British Columbia, from Greece, the torch was taken to over 1,000 Canadian communities, traveling as far north as the town of Alert — believed to be the northernmost permanently inhabited place on Earth.