Coastal West Sussex is proud to announce that the Olympic Flame will be travelling through the area on the 16th July 2012 with plenty of opportunities for local people to welcome the Olympic Flame.
The Ahead of the Game website announced that the Olympic Flame will pass through sixteen local communities across West Sussex, including Chichester, Worthing, Crawley and East Grinstead. With so many local communities on the route, people across the county will be able to share the excitement of the Torch Relay, the events happening around it and to celebrate the achievements of the local Torchbearers.
West Sussex host locations are among more than 1,000 communities announced by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) through which the Olympic Flame will be carried by Torchbearers during the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, which is presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung.
The Deputy Leader of WSCC, Lionel Barnard, said, ‘West Sussex was quick to realise the benefits to be gained from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and I am very pleased to welcome the Olympic Flame. This will shine a light on many of our communities and be a special opportunity for us to see the Torch Relay. I hope many people will take up the opportunity to make this a really special two days’.
Sally Gunnell, Olympic gold medallist and Deputy Lieutenant of West Sussex added, ‘The Olympics are such a wonderful inspiration to young people. Having the Olympic Torch travelling through West Sussex is a brilliant chance for communities to celebrate this once in a lifetime event, and to cheer the local people who have been chosen to run with the Olympic Flame’.
Sebastian Coe, Chair of LOCOG said: ‘We are thrilled to confirm that West Sussex communities will act as host locations for the Olympic Flame, extending an invitation to people in the county to welcome the Olympic Torch Relay during its journey around the UK. This is the UK’s moment to shine and I want to encourage people across West Sussex to start planning how they can be part of this once in a lifetime opportunity and show their support for the inspirational Torchbearers chosen to carry the Olympic Flame as we count down to the start of the Olympic Games’.
The 70 day Olympic Torch Relay, which starts at Land’s End, Cornwall on the morning of 19 May 2012, will travel an estimated 8,000 miles around the UK.
In announcing the villages, towns and cities, LOCOG has realised the aspiration of taking the Olympic Flame to within an hour’s journey time of 95% of the population. It will be carried by 8,000 inspirational Torchbearers each of whom will have a story of personal achievement and/or contribution to the local community. Torchbearer places will start to be confirmed from February 2012 onwards and the street-by-street detail of the route will be confirmed next year.
You can view the interactive map at www.london2012.com/olympictorchrelaymap to find the nearest community to you through which the Olympic Flame will be carried.
On the final day of the Olympic Torch Relay, the Olympic Flame is expected to travel down the River Thames to the Olympic Stadium on 27th July 2012 for the lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony, signifying the official start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
LOCOG has also launched two programmes. The ‘Local Leaders’ initiative is an invitation to people to take the 2012 Games into their community and create their own celebrations next year, for the Olympic Torch Relay and other key moments during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 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 to support events.
The ‘Get Set for the Olympic Torch Relay’ education resource is now 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 3 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. A further education resource will launch next year to encourage schools to plan a welcome for the Olympic Flame and show support for the Torchbearers. Lloyds TSB, official Education Partner of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, have launched their Flame Followers schools’ programme which complements the Get Set resources, and gives schools unique opportunities be right at the heart of the excitement and celebrations of the Relay.