The 70-day relay, which will presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung, will pass through 1,018 villages, towns and cities with street by street details to be confirmed next year.

In a unique twist, the Flame will travel via different methods of transport including horseback, bicycle, tram and steam-train with many Torchbearers set to face exciting challenges along the way.

It will reach as far north as Lerwick in Scotland and as far south as St Helier in Jersey, as far east as Lowestoft in England and as far west as Enniskillen in Northern Ireland.

As previously reported on insidethegames, there are also plans to take the Flame to Dublin in the Republic of Ireland for a short period although talks are continuing on the subject and the International Olympic Committee's ruling Executive Board are expected to officially endorse the plan next month.

The relay will visit UK landmarks like the Giant's Causeway and Stonehenge.

"By working closely with representatives from a number of sectors in each nation and region to devise the route, I'm delighted to say that we have realised our aspiration of taking the Olympic Flame to within an hour's journey of 95 per cent of the population," said London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe.

"Not only does the route include villages, town and cities but it will also take in hundreds of iconic landmarks such as Snowdon, Stormont, Loch Ness and Stonehenge to really celebrate the diversity of the UK.

"My hope is that many thousands of people welcome the Olympic Flame along the route each day to celebrate the achievements of the Torchbearers in parks, squares and streets right around the UK.

"I really encourage everyone to get out and take part in the excitement of the Torch Relay as it comes through their town."

The Flame will arrive in the UK from Greece on May 18, 2012,after being lit on Mount Olympus which is the ancient birthplace of the Games.


The relay will start the following morning at Land's End in Cornwall and pass through every county in England and every Local Authority area in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales before arriving in London on July 20.

Among the highlights the Torch will take a ride in an Isle of Man TT sidecar, a hair lift at the Needles, Isle of Wight, float in a rainforest balloon at the Eden Project, brave the white water rapids at Lee Valley, take a trip on the Flying Scotsman, the Manx electric railway and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, abseil down the Dock Tower in Grimsby, take a rigid inflatable boat across Lough Neagh and Loch Ness.

On the final day of the Olympic Torch Relay on July 27, the Olympic Flame will travel down the River Thames as it makes its way to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford for the lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony which will signify the official start of the Games.

The Flame will be carried across the UK by 8,000 inspirational Torchbearers, each of whom will have a story of personal achievement or contribution to the local community, and in December this year successful nominees will be contacted with a conditional offer.

Final Torchbearer places will start to be confirmed from February 2012 onwards.

The three presenting partner have used today's announcement to reemphasise their delight at being involved.

"We are extremely proud to be a Presenting Partner of the London 2012 Olympic Games," said Gyehyun Kwon, vice-president and head of worldwide sports marketing at Samsung Electronics.

"As a worldwide Olympic partner, Samsung will support each of the 1,000 villages, towns and cities as they celebrate their own Olympic Torch Relay moment and help showcase the nation's cultural landmarks along the way."

James Williams, the Director of Olympic Torch Relay, Coca-Cola North West Europe and Nordics, said: "London 2012 will see Coca-Cola presenting the Olympic Torch Relay for the eighth time, so we know just how powerful it is at uniting a whole country in support of the world's biggest festival of sport.

"In 2010, we saw far-flung communities right across Canada really come together to welcome the Olympic Flame, and now we can't wait to bring that magic to cities, towns and villages the length and breadth of the UK."

Sally Hancock, the Director of the 2012 Partnership and Group Sponsorship at Lloyds TSB, added: "As the National Presenting Partner of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, Lloyds TSB is helping to bring the Olympic Flame closer to communities across the UK.

"With branches on practically every high street we're inviting everybody to celebrate the Relay with Lloyds TSB as it travels past their doorsteps next year."

London 2012 have also launched two new public participation programmes today involving celebrations around the Olympic Torch Relay

The first is the Local Leaders initiative which is an invitation to people across the UK to take the 2012 Games into their community and create their own celebrations next year when the Flame passed through their community.

People are encouraged to sign up to the Local Leader programme at www.london2012.com/localleaders to receive further information on a range of themed celebration ideas focusing on the Opening Ceremony evening, gardening, quizzes and barbecues and be in the front row to receive free London 2012 event materials.

The second programme is the Get Set for the Olympic Torch Relay education resource, available to all schools registered with Get Set, London 2012's official education programme.

The aim of the resource is to provide schools with cross-curricular resources aimed at teachers working with three-to-16-year-olds to aid learning around the history of Olympic Torch Relays, the design of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay and the Torch itself.

To view the interactive map and find your nearest community through which the Olympic Flame will be carried please click here.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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