- Hundreds of inspiring people from London confirmed as Torchbearers for the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay
- Many of the streets along which the Olympic Flame will be carried as it journeys around London are revealed
- Torchbearer uniform unveiled
- More details and maps
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) today confirmed places for hundreds of inspiring people from London who will be carrying the Olympic Flame as Torchbearers in the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay.
The Torchbearers announced today include those that were successful through the public nomination processes run by LOCOG and the Presenting Partners, Coca Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung. Each Torchbearer has also had confirmed the details of what day and in which London borough they will be carrying the Flame. LOCOG has endeavoured to slot Torchbearers within an hour of their nomination address so family and friends can cheer them on. The Torchbearers are listed by the community they are carrying the Olympic Flame in at www.london2012.com/olympictorchrelay together with a selection of their inspiring stories. The remaining Torchbearers will be confirmed over the coming months.
An average of 115 Torchbearers a day will carry the Olympic Flame during its 8,000 mile journey around the UK before it arrives at the Olympic Stadium on 27 July 2012 for the lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony, signifying the official start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The streets in London in which the Torchbearers will carry the Olympic Flame were also revealed today at www.london2012.com/olympictorchrelay to help communities plan for lining the route and business continuity. Plans for the last two days in London will be confirmed in the next month. The on-line map gives street-by-street details and the approximate start times for how and when the Flame will travel through over 1,000 villages, towns and cities that were announced at the end of last year. Communities can view the journey of the Olympic Flame in detail now and can find out when it will be travelling along their nearest high street, through their town square or past their local village shop.
The Flame will travel through over 1,000 communities as its travels round the UK and will be transported by a variety of different methods of transport, including by boat, cable car, hot air balloon, bicycle, motorbike and horseback. Additionally it will pass many monuments, historic venues and sites of regional, national and international interest
Highlights for the Flame’s journey across London include visits to places far and wide across the city including Kew Gardens, Northala Fields in Ealing and Crystal Palace Park. The Flame will also travel in a boat across Fairlop Waters Country Park in Redbridge and a light railway in Barking Park. Further details about all these moments will be revealed in the run up to the Relay.
Sebastian Coe, Chairman of LOCOG said: ‘Today we bring the Olympic Torch Relay to life, with thousands of inspirational people from all over the UK being confirmed as Torchbearers.
“We hope local communities come out and line the streets across London to cheer on the Torchbearers, and celebrate the Olympic Games coming to the UK.”
LOCOG has worked closely with representatives from a number of sectors in each Nation and Region of the UK to devise the route and is taking the Olympic Flame to within ten miles of over 95% of the population.
Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport said: ‘This is a big day in the Olympic preparations - the Torch Relay will now come to life for millions of people. The excitement will be increasingly infectious as people all over the UK now start to plan where they’re going to go to see the Olympic Flame and cheer on local Torchbearers.’
Also unveiled today is the uniform that will be worn by the 8,000 Torchbearers. LOCOG designed the uniform in association with London 2012’s official sportswear provider, adidas. The uniform is easy-to-wear and celebrates the important role of the Torchbearer.
The primary colour is white with gold shards accenting the energy of the Olympic Flame at the shoulder and neckline. Multiple gold shards are used at the elbow to focus the eye on the arm, with a final shard continuing down to the cuff and the hand holding the Torch.
The Torchbearer uniform, along with the crew and Torch Security Team uniforms, will be worn and put through their paces as part of the Dress Rehearsal test event on Friday 20 April 2012.
The three uniforms work well together but clearly distinguish the different roles the wearers have.
James Williams, Director, Olympic Torch Relay, The Coca-Cola Company, said: ‘With just a few short weeks to go before the Olympic Flame arrives in the UK, we’re really excited to be confirming every single one of the inspirational Coca-Cola Future Flames who will be bearing the Torch as the Relay makes its way all over the country, spreading the magic of London 2012 as it goes. Now everyone knows exactly where the Relay will be, they can get ready to line the streets and celebrate their local Future Flames. We’re also looking forward to showcasing some of the UK’s most exciting music artists at the nightly events on the route, including the four very special extended City Celebrations in Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds and Birmingham. Visit www.ticketmaster.co.uk/coca-colacelebrations for your chance to be there.’
Sally Hancock, 2012 Partnership and Group Sponsorship Director, Lloyds TSB, said: ‘The Olympic Torch Relay provides a wonderful opportunity for communities the length and breadth of the UK to get involved with the Games and celebrate people in their local area who have made a difference. We’re delighted to confirm our Olympic Torchbearers and celebrate the contributions they have made to communities across London. We are inviting everyone to cheer on the Olympic Torch Relay with Lloyds TSB as it travels past their doorstep this year.’
Sunny Hwang, Vice President & Head of Global Sports Marketing, Samsung Electronics, said: ‘We are really happy and excited to invite a great number of inspirational Torchbearers who have ‘gone the extra mile’ by contributing to the local communities, through our worldwide public nomination campaign as a Presenting Partner of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay. Samsung wants to make London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay the most participative Relay ever. We will try to bring the memorable and inspirational moments to Torchbearers, towns and cities to celebrate the exciting moment of the Torch Relay.’
Schools across London can now access free learning resources linked to the Olympic Torch Relay through Get Set (london2012.com/getset), the official London 2012 education programme. The activities are designed to help schools and colleges make the most of the Relay by lining the route, and cheering on their local Torchbearers. Resources include ideas for making Flame hats and shakers to welcome the Flame, an assembly presentation to get the school behind a Torchbearer and a film featuring one Get Set network school's preparations for the Relay.
Notes to editors
For further information please contact the London 2012 Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 100 or visit the website at www.london2012.com. Find out the latest from London 2012 HQ on our blog www.london2012.com/blog or follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/london2012
About the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Presenting Partners:
As the longest standing Presenting Partner of the Olympic Torch Relay, Coca-Cola will be using its heritage and experience to spread excitement across the UK ahead of London 2012. Coca-Cola's national nomination campaign - Future Flames – has focused on finding inspirational young people from across the country to have the once in a lifetime opportunity to carry the Olympic Flame. This summer Coca-Cola will celebrate these Future Flames: young people who use their passions in areas like sport and physical activity, music and dance, and community and the environment; to spread happiness in their local communities. Find out more at: www.coca-cola.co.uk/olympic-games
As the only National Presenting Partner of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, Lloyds TSB will be taking the spirit and inspiration of the Olympic Flame right to the heart of communities across the UK. As part of Lloyds Banking Group, Bank of Scotland will be the National Presenting Partner in Scotland. Schools can be right at the heart of the celebrations through our Flame Followers programme, giving them access to free resources to get their pupils inspired and excited about the Olympic Torch Relay (schools can register at www.lloydstsb.com/flamefollowers). Customers can be the first to hear how they can follow the Olympic Flame, through our customer-exclusive programme Trackside. Find out more at www.lloydstsb.com/london2012
As a Presenting Partner of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, Samsung aims to encourage everyone to be part of the Olympic Torch Relay to make London 2012 ‘Everyone’s Olympic Games.’ We aspire to offer new and memorable experiences for everyone around the world. Samsung is providing 1,360 Torchbearers, who have “gone the extra mile” by contributing to the local communities, through its worldwide public nomination campaign. Samsung will support towns and cities to celebrate the exciting moment of the Torch Relay and help showcase Great Britain’s cultural landmarks to provide a more enjoyable experience to everyone. The evening celebrations that will be staged in 66 towns and cities throughout the Olympic Flame’s journey across the UK, will allow Samsung to entertain the community they are visiting. The Samsung caravan, complete with LED screen on the side showcasing runners and goodwill messages, will travel with Torchbearers around the UK cheering up everyone to celebrate the Torch Relay with music and interaction with local communities. It is Samsung’s ambition that London 2012 will be an event that reaches and involves more people than on any other Olympic Games occasion. To learn more about Samsung’s London 2012 Olympic programme, please visit www.samsung.com/london2012.
The Supporters of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay are:
Worldwide Olympic Partners Procter and Gamble and Visa, Tier One Partners adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT and EDF, Tier Three Providers Aggreko, Holiday Inn and NATURE VALLEY.
London 2012 Games partners:
The Worldwide Olympic Partners who support the London 2012 Olympic Games and the National Olympic Committees around the world are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow Chemical Company, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.
LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS.
There are now twenty-eight domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, G4S, GSK, Gymnova, Heathrow Airport, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, NATURE VALLEY, Next, Nielsen, Populous, Rapiscan Systems, Rio Tinto, Technogym, Thames Water, Ticketmaster, Trebor and Westfield.
There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games-only Partner, Sainsbury’s and one domestic Tier Three Paralympic Games-only Supplier, Otto Bock. The London 2012 Paralympic Games also acknowledges the support of the National Lottery.