Olympic Torch Relay Route & Dates Announced

London 2012 has revealed the first details of the route of the 70-day, 8,000-mile Torch Relay of Britain ahead of next year’s Olympics, starting at Land’s End in Cornwall on May 19, a year from now.

London 2012 officials announced 74 locations where 8,000 torchbearers will carry the flame after it arrives from Greece on May 18, 2012. The relay is being presented by London 2012 Tier One partner Lloyds TSB and Olympic worldwide sponsors Coca-Cola and Samsung.

The torch will pass through England’s major cities, the capitals of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as remote outposts including the Isle of Lewis. Dublin is also set to be officially confirmed as a stop on June 7 when it is set to travel from Belfast to the Irish capital, before departing for Glasgow, its first stop in Scotland, where it will spend eight days.

The flame will spend an entire week in London, the staging city for the Games – arriving in Waltham Forest on July 21 – before it is used to light the cauldron at the opening ceremony in the Olympic Stadium on Friday, July 27.

it is estimated that 95 per cent of the population will be within a one hour journey time of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay and London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe stated: “The Olympic Flame will shine a light right across every Nation and Region of the UK and showcase the very best of who we are and where we live.

“The first locations on the route confirmed today give a flavour of the reach the Olympic Torch Relay will have around the UK and how extensive the opportunity for starting to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic Games will be.”

Many thousands more people are expected to celebrate along the route each day and Hugh Robertson, the Sport and Olympics Minister, added: “The Olympic Torch Relay brings London 2012 to the doorsteps of the UK giving everybody the chance to celebrate the London Games.

“It’s a magnificent showcase for the country and a chance to mark the achievements of inspirational people in our communities.”

Coe is due to announce at a press conference later today, May 18, how to apply to become one of the 8,000 people chosen to carry the Torch.