Olympic torch abseiled into London

The Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012 torch will complete a round tour of London, carried by 982 torch-bearers, before returning to the Tower of London on the Gloriana, the £1m royal barge which led the Diamond Jubilee flotilla, ahead of the opening ceremony next Friday.

The arrival will begin with a reception at the Tower of London with the flame arriving via a 180ft abseil from a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter (left).

Two torch bearers, one athlete and one person nominated by the Tower of London, will carry the flame at the event.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson, the mayor of Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman, Sebastian Coe and other dignitaries will be present at the reception.
The torch will spend the night at the reception before travelling around London (see the torch’s route, below)

Its arrival in London and journey through the capital marks the final countdown to what will be a great Games – Hugh Robertson, Olympics minister

Boris Johnson said: “The arrival of the Olympic flame is a huge moment for the capital and an incredible opportunity for Londoners to experience, right on their doorsteps, the growing excitement as the countdown to the start of the 2012 Olympic Games moves ever nearer.”

Olympics minister Hugh Robertson said: “Now the flame is on the home straight. Its arrival in London and journey through the capital marks the final countdown to what will be a great Games.”

However, the Olympic Games is still beset by potential problems, with UK Borders officers set to go on strike the day before the opening ceremony. Home Secretary Theresa May today called the walkout “shameful”.

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, the trade union representing the borders staff, has said that the lives of border offices had been made “intolerable”.

“They’re acting recklessly in cutting so many jobs and privatising services, and are provocatively refusing to talk to us with a genuine desire to reach an agreement,” said PCS secretary general Mark Serwotka.

Security has been a concern since Channel 4 News revealed that security firm G4S had failed to recruit enough staff for the Games. Strathclyde Police have now announced they will take over “primary responsibility” for running security at Glasgow’s venues for the Games.

A statement on the police force’s website said: “Following recent developments surrounding security arrangements for the Olympic 2012 events in Glasgow, Chief Constable Stephen House has decided that Strathclyde Police will assume primary responsibility for security at Olympic venues.” Glasgow will host male and female Olympics football matches.

Additionally, assistant chief constable Terry Sweeney of the Greater Manchester Police said the force would be ensuring there was a “significant police presence” at Old Trafford for the Games.

He said: “Following discussions with LOCOG we have now taken the decision to supply a small number of specialist police officers to assist in the safety and security operation at Old Trafford.”

Issues were also raised on Friday over the issue of sponsorship and branding after Lord Coe said he thought it probably would not be permitted for a spectator to wear a Pepsi T-shirt in the Olympic venues because Coca-Cola is a sponsor.

LOCOG later clarified the remarks, saying: “Any individual coming into our venues can wear any item of clothing, branded or otherwise. The only issue is if large groups come in together wearing clearly visible branding/marketing.”

Talking to Channel 4 News, a critic of consumerism, Reverend Billy Talen, of the Church of Stop Shopping, gave his views on sponsorship at the Games (see below).

The relay will see the Olympic flame pass through all 33 of London’s boroughs, including trips to landmarks such as St Paul’s Cathedral and Buckingham Palace.

A host of celebrities will carry the torch including Fabrice Muamba, the Bolton Wanderers footballer who nearly died after suffering cardiac arrest in an FA Cup tie this year.

The route

Friday 20 July

The torch arrives via a Sea King helicopter at the Tower of London, where it spends the night.

Saturday 21 July: Greenwich Park to Waltham Forest (36.35 miles)

The relay starts in Greenwich Park at 7.21am where it will be carried by 15-year-old Natasha Sinha. Over the course of the day it will pass through Greenwich, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest, passing the Cutty Sark, the Mayor of Newham’s show, Hackney town hall and Leyton cricket ground. It will finish its journey at 7.12pm.

Sunday 22 July: Redbrdge to Bexley (32.37 miles)

Luke Benjafield, 20, will start the relay ay 7.19am at Redbridge recycling centre. It will pass through Redbridge, Barking and Dagenham, and Havering before arriving in Bexley’s Danson Park at 6.50pm.

During the day 17-year-old Amelia Hempleman Adams, who at 16 was the youngest person to ski to the South Pole, will hold the flame on top of a capsule on the London Eye.

Monday 23 July: Lewisham to Wandsworth (36.88 miles)

Starting at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, the torch will be carried through Lewisham, Bromley, Croydon, Sutton and Merton before arriving at Totting Bec Common, carried by Tim Henman (pictured above), at 6.50pm.

As a part of the relay the torch will be carried on to centre court at Wimbledon.

Tuesday 24 July: Kingston upon Thames to Ealing (42.97 miles)

Olympic rowing gold medallist James Cracknell will start the torch relay at the Hook community centre in Kingston. The torch will pass through Richmond, including a visit to Kew Gardens, Hounslow and Hillingdon before arriving at Ealing’s Walpole Park at 6:50pm.

Wednesday 25 July: Harrow to Haringey (30.48 miles)

Starting at Headstone Manor in Harrow, the torch will head to Wembley Stadium in Brent where it will carried by former England goalkeeper Gordon Banks, 75.

It will then pass through Barnet where it will be carried by Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint (above) before heading through Enfield and into Haringey. The last torch bearer of the day, taking the torch to Alexandra Palace, will be Olympic gold-winning legend Daley Thompson (left).

Thursday 26 July: Camden to Westminster (32.7 miles)

Starting at Camden’s Roundhouse from where it will head to King’s Cross station. It will then head into Islington where it will be carried by comedian David Walliams.

The relay will then head through the City of London. Southwark, Lambeth, Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea before heading into Westminster.

Throughout the day it will stop off at central London’s landmarks including St Paul’s Cathedral, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Trafalgar Square, Downing Street and Buckingham Palace.