Torch Relay Route & Torchbearers Revealed for London 2012 Olympics

The torch relay route of the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games has been unveiled on Monday.

London 2012 chairman Lord Coe said: “Today we bring the Olympic Torch Relay to life as organizers hope the 8,000-mile relay involving 8,000 torchbearers will be the point when enthusiasm for the Games ignites across the country.”

Details on the two-day finale to the 70-day torch relay when the Olympic Flame arrives for the lighting of the cauldron for the start of the Games won’t be revealed until closer to the start of the relay at Lands End on May 19.

About 7,000 people, many members of the public who have shown community spirit, courage, and sporting determination, have been named as torchbearers. The youngest is 12. Each torchbearer will wear a white and gold uniform designed by Adidas.

An average of 115 torchbearers a day will carry the flame from May 19 to July 27 to the Opening Ceremony in Stratford, east London.

One torchbearer will carry the flame on a chairlift at the Needles on the Isle of Wight, another will skate with it at the Nottingham Ice Centre, and it will be rowed at Henley-on-Thames and on the River Bann in Coleraine, Northern Ireland.

Lord Coe said: “The flame symbolizes the Olympic spirit and its journey around the UK will bring the excitement of the Games to our streets. Now the people know the route the Olympic Flame will be carried along and the torchbearers for their community, they can start planning how they might celebrate.”

The torch is due to arrive at the Olympic Stadium in London for the Opening Ceremony on July 27 when the last relay runner will transfer the flame to the Olympic cauldron. It will then continue to burn until it is extinguished on the final day of the Games.

by Ismail Uddin