Marathon runners will carry an Olympic-style torch through Queenstown on Saturday as part of a global odyssey to spread the message of world harmony.
The World Harmony Run, which began in April at the United Nations in New York, will travel through six continents and one hundred countries and cover 70,000km.
In the space of 24 days, the Australia-New Zealand team intends to cover distances from Christchurch to Dunedin, and then Auckland to Wellington.
After completing the New Zealand leg, they will then fly to Australia to run from Hobart to Canberra.
On Saturday, the team will arrive in Queenstown, having run the 112km distance from Wanaka.
The relay-style event is broken down into marathon distances from one city to the next.
Tim Cranfield, from Christchurch, is one of seven Kiwi runners in the team, the remaining five runners hailing from the Czech Republic and Guatemala. Cranfield is an ultra-marathon runner and previously completed the 2008 edition of the World Harmony Run.
"I got involved with the project through friends who had heard about it.
It's just great fun and a great event," he said.
Cranfield said the torch was carried as a representation of "peace and harmony".
While travelling through New Zealand, the running team will visit schools in over 30 towns and cities and involve pupils, community groups, civic and political leaders, and media and sporting personalities.
Cranfield said participants at these events would reflect on the message "Harmony begins with me", a message introduced by World Harmony Run founder Sri Chinmoy, a world-renowned peace activist.
Cranfield said the run also recognised certain people as "harmony builders" with the Torch Bearer Award, an honour granted to local people who had helped to foster harmony and peace.
Green Party MP Gareth Hughes recently received this award for his peace and activism efforts around the world.
Former patrons of the event include Mother Theresa and Nelson Mandela.
Cranfield said Queenstown runners were invited to join the team while they were on Queenstown roads.
The team is expected to arrive from Wanaka on Saturday afternoon.
The following morning, the team will run 47km from Queenstown to Kingston.
