The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has confirmed all the communities the Olympic Flame will be carried through by Torchbearers during the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay - presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung.
The announcement of the 1,018 villages, towns and cities on the route means LOCOG has matched its target of taking the Olympic Flame to within an hour’s journey time of 95% of the population.
Over 95% of the population will be within 10 miles of the Olympic Flame next summer. The street by street detail of the route will be confirmed next year.
LOCOG has worked closely with representatives from a number of sectors in each Nation and Region to devise the route.
Not only does the route include villages, town and cities, the Olympic Torch Relay will also take in hundreds of landmarks and will showcase and celebrate the diversity of the UK.
LOCOG has also announced a selection of the modes of transport by which the Olympic Flame, including horseback, bicycle, tram and steam-train.
Every county in England and every Local Authority area in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales will host the Olympic Flame.
Sebastian Coe, Chair of LOCOG, said: ‘I’m delighted that the Olympic Torch Relay will take the 2012 Games to almost every corner of the UK and that we have achieved our ambition to take the Flame to within an hour’s journey of 95% of the population. Now everyone is invited to plan their welcome and find out where they can go to be part of this historic occasion. The Olympic Games are coming to you as the Olympic Flame gives our people and places their moment to shine.’
Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, added: ‘When the Olympic Flame arrives here in the UK on 18 May next year it will mark the final countdown to the greatest sporting event the country will host in our lifetime. The Olympic Torch Relay will be an amazing opportunity for people to see the Olympic Flame in their own towns and communities. The Flame’s journey is steeped in the rich history of the Olympic Games, travelling from Athens then right around the UK. I encourage everyone to get out and take part in the excitement of the Torch Relay as it comes through their town.’
The Olympic Flame will be lit in Olympia in Greece in May 2012. British Airways is a Supporter of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay and the Olympic Flame will arrive into the UK from Greece on 18th May 2012 on board one of its aircraft.
The 70 day Olympic Torch Relay, presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung, will start at Land’s End, Cornwall on the morning of 19 May 2012. On leaving Land’s End, the Olympic Flame will travel an estimated 8,000 miles around the UK giving thousands of communities and individuals their moment to shine as the Olympic Flame comes to a place near them.
The Olympic Flame will be carried across the UK by 8,000 inspirational Torchbearers each of whom will have a story of personal achievement and/or contribution to the local community. In December this year, successful nominees will be contacted with a conditional offer and final Torchbearer places will start to be confirmed from February 2012 onwards.
On the final day of the Olympic Torch Relay, it is LOCOG’s intention that the Olympic Flame will travel down the River Thames as it makes its way to the Olympic Stadium on 27th July 2012 for the lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony, signifying the official start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Today LOCOG launches two new public participation programmes. The ‘Local Leaders’ initiative is an invitation to people across the UK to take the 2012 Games into their community and create their own celebrations next year, for the Olympic Torch Relay and other key moments during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Also launched today is the ‘Get Set for the Olympic Torch Relay’ education resource, available to all schools registered with Get Set, London 2012’s official education programme.
The aim of the resource is to provide schools with cross-curricular resources aimed at teachers working with 3 to 16 year olds to aid learning around the history of Olympic Torch Relays, the design of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay and the Torch itself.
A further resource will launch next year to encourage schools to plan a welcome for the Olympic Flame and show support for the Torchbearers.
Lloyds TSB, official Education Partner of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, has launched its Flame Followers schools programme which complements the Get Set resources, and gives schools once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to be right at the heart of the excitement and celebrations of the Relay.
