Where will the Olympic torch go?
An online street map showing the exact route of the Olympic torch relay has been released. It is hoped 95 per cent of the population will be within 10 miles of the route.
The 8,000-mile torch relay begins at Land’s End on May 19 and is expected to take 70 days to reach the Olympic stadium in London. Over 7,000 torch bearers will carry the Olympic flame around the country before the lighting of the cauldron that marks the start of the Olympic Games.
The actual details of the two-day finale are being kept secret for now.
London 2012 chairman Lord Coe declared: “Today we bring the Olympic Torch Relay to life.
“The flame symbolises 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 fame will be carried along, and the torchbearers for their community, they can start planning how they might celebrate.”
Proposed start times of when and where the Olympic flame will travel across Britain will be shown online at http://www.london2012.com/olympictorchrelay
Members of the public are being urged to turn out to cheer it along.
The route will take the torch through some unusual spots – one torch bearer is due to carry the flame up a chair lift at the Needles on the Isle of Wight. Another will row it down the Thames at Henley and another along the River Bann in Northern Ireland.
The torch will also be abseiled down the Dock Tower at Grimbsy and be flown down a zip wire off the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle.
It is estimated that around 115 torchbearers will carry it each day – which works out at just under 10 minutes each.
The torch bearers were chosen through the nomination schemes run by London 2012 and sponsors Samsung, Lloyds TSB and Coca-Cola.
Background checks are being run on all the nominees before the final line-up is confirmed.