The route for the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games torch relay was revealed Wednesday. It will spend two months touring the United Kingdom before arriving in London for the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Games.
Lord Sebastian Coe, chairman of London 2012, who announced the route said, “the Olympic flame will shine a light right across every nation and region of the UK and showcase the very best of who we are and where we live”.
The torch arrives from Greece in Land’s End, Cornwall, one year from yesterday, and will travel 8,000 miles for 70 days before arriving in Stratford, east London for the Opening Ceremony on July 27.
Organizers have confirmed the first 74 locations, and a more detailed route will be announced later in the year.
The torch will travel for 12 hours every day and the route will pass within an hour’s travelling time of 95 per cent of the population. It will take in historic sites, sports venues, and places of outstanding natural beauty.
On most days the procession with end with an evening celebration.
The torch will be carried by 8,000 people; 90 per cent will be members of the public. The other 10 per cent will include celebrities such as marathon world record holders.
From Land’s End the torch will travel up the West Country to Cardiff and throughout Wales, and will reach Liverpool on June 1 where it will take in the Isle of Man and Belfast, before heading for Scotland where it will visit several cities.
The torch will then be transported over the water to Shetland, Orkney and the Isle of Lewis.
It will then travel down the North-East coast before crossing to Cumbria and passing through Blackpool, Manchester, Leeds and Derby.
In early July the torch will arrive in the Midlands before it visits East Anglia and then heads for the south coast where it will be taken to Guernsey and Jersey.
On the mainland the torch will cover the South-East and then travel to several boroughs in London, making its final journey to Stratford in east London.
There are also plans to take the torch to Dublin.
