Flame communities revealed
LOCOG has announced the communities through which the Olympic Flame will be carried.
Last Updated: 07/11/11 2:43pm
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has confirmed the communities through which the Olympic Flame will be carried.
The announcement of the 1,018 villages, towns and cities on the route means LOCOG has realised the aspiration of taking the Olympic Flame to within an hour's journey time of 95% of the population.
In fact, over 95% of the population will be within just 10 miles of the Olympic Flame next summer. The street by street detail of the route will be confirmed next year.
Not only does the route include villages, town and cities, the Olympic Torch Relay will also take in hundreds of landmarks; from the famous to the unexpected; natural to the man-made; historical to the modern and will showcase and celebrate the diversity of the UK.
By visiting different communities the Olympic Flame will connect the people of the UK to the Olympic Games, its values and its spirit.
Travelling by different methods of transport including horseback, bicycle, tram and steam-train, the Olympic Torch Relay will also include exciting moments with extreme heights, high speeds and breath-taking spectacles.
Every county in England and every Local Authority area in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales will host the Olympic Flame, with welcomes reaching as far north as Lerwick in Scotland to St Helier in the south, Lowestoft in the east and Enniskillen in the west.
People are invited to view the interactive map to find their nearest community through which the Olympic Flame will be carried.
Sebastian Coe, Chair of LOCOG, said: "I'm delighted that the Olympic Torch Relay will take the 2012 Games at almost every corner of the UK and that we have achieved our ambition to take the Flame to within an hour's journey of 95% of the population.
"Now everyone is invited to plan their welcome and find out where they can go to be part of this historic occasion. The Olympic Games are coming to you as the Olympic Flame gives our people and places their moment to shine."
The 70 day Olympic Torch Relay, presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung, will start at Land's End, Cornwall on the morning of 19 May 2012.
On leaving Land's End, the Olympic Flame will travel an estimated 8,000 miles around the UK giving thousands of communities and individuals their moment to shine as the Olympic Flame comes to a place near them.
On the final day of the Olympic Torch Relay, it is LOCOG's intention that the Olympic Flame will travel down the River Thames as it makes its way to 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 three Presenting Partners of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay - Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung - will help bring the Olympic Flame to the people of the UK. Together they provide an optimum mix of previous Olympic Torch Relay expertise and community based programmes to support the staging of the Relay.
