The Olympic Torch to Travel by Balloon, Canoe and Zip Wire
 |
The Olympic torch relay is a fairly modern tradition which began in Berlin at the 1936 Olympic Games. The torch relay symbolises the beginning of the games as the flame travels around the hosting country. The London 2012 Olympic torch route has been unveiled and it’s been announced that 95% of the population in the UK, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Jersey will come within 10miles of the torch in the summer next year. The 8,000 mile relay starting on 19th May and finishing at on 27th July will allow the torch to visit 1,018 cities, towns and villages. This will allow local communities to take part in the celebrations and be a part of this historic event.
It is a great honour and privilege to be given the chance to carry the torch and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games has begun the selection process to pick out 8,000 of the 28,000 inspirational people that have been nominated. The successful nominees will be contacted from February 2012 onwards.
Out of the 8,000 torchbearers they will aim to make over half of those selected young people under the age of 24. There will be 8,000 torches made and each will be used to pass on the flame. The torch will be a light at 800g and 80cm in height considering over half of the torch bearers will be 12-24 years of age.
Not only will the torch be taken by foot but it will also travel by balloon across Cornwall, down the white water rapids at the Lee Valley White Water Centre in Hertfordshire and fly by zip wire off the Tyne Bridge. It will also be taken by other modes of transport such as bicycle, steam train and horseback on its epic journey around Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the countdown to the Olympics.
During its 70 day relay it will stop by famous landmarks such as Loch Ness, Stonehenge and Snowdon. It has also been confirmed that the torch will make a stop at Walford, the fictional London Borough which is the set of the famous British soap Eastenders. Live footage will be shown on 23rd July 2012 where we will see the torch being carried through Albert Square by long-standing character Billy Mitchell, who is played by Perry Fenwick. Also until now E20 had been the fictional London district of Walford, however Royal Mail had announced earlier this year that the Olympic Park is to receive the same postcode.
A more detailed route will be announced next year which will give us details of the streets the torchbearers will travel through. The 8,000 inspirational torchbearers will carry the torch in a relay starting from Land’s End on 19th May. As it makes its way around the country it will finally travel down the River Thames and make its way to Olympic stadium in Stratford on 27th July for the lighting of the cauldron at the opening ceremony. This will signify the official start of the long awaited London 2012 Olympic Games.
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 OlympicsStreet Fighter x Tekken makes history as fighters from these two bastions of the fighting genre come together for the very first time. Utilizing the s... Read more...
London 2012 Team USA Olympic Team Dual Flag PinLondon 2012 Team USA Olympic Team Dual Flag Pin
Related Videos:
Olympic Queen Mattress Pads
Fencing Sword
Olympic Games Feed
What do you think about this write-up?