AS THE FULL TORCH RELAY ROUTE IS ANNOUNCED, COMMUNITIES ACROSS ENGLAND INVITE VISITORS TO JOIN THEIR CELEBRATIONS
• Olympic Flame will pass within 10 miles of over 95% of English population
• Every county in England will welcome the Flame
VisitEngland welcomes today’s announcement from the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), which confirmed all the communities through which the Olympic Flame will be carried during the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay.
Over 95% of the population will be within just 10 miles of the Olympic Flame, whose route will include villages, towns and cities and hundreds of landmarks, from the famous to the unexpected. Travelling through every county in England by different methods of transport that include canal boat, horseback, bicycle, tram, steam-train and zip-wire, the Olympic Flame will be greeted by thousands of spectators along the route each day.
James Berresford, VisitEngland’s Chief Executive commented: “The London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay promises to be a great boost for English tourism next year. With the Torch coming within an hour of 95% of the population and visiting over 1,000 villages, towns and cities, we will all have the chance to celebrate the Games in our own communities, with exciting local events on everyone’s doorstep.”
After being lit in Olympia in Greece, the torch will travel to England, arriving in England on 18 May 2012 at Lands End, from where the Olympic Flame will commence its 8,000-mile journey through the UK. On the final day of the Olympic Torch Relay, the Olympic Flame Is expected to travel down the River Thames as it makes its way to the opening ceremony on 27 July 2012 to light the cauldron and signal the official start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Here, VisitEngland looks at some of the iconic landmarks that will be in the spotlight next summer.
In Cornwall, where the Olympic Torch begins its journey, the route will incorporate Land’s End, St Michael’s Mount, and the Eden Project, where the Torchbearer will travel in a hot air balloon. The torch will then pass Stonehenge, Bath’s Royal Crescent and Durdle Door in Dorset on its journey through the South West.
As the Olympic Flame travels through the West Midlands it will pass the World Heritage Site of Iron Bridge and the National Memorial Arboretum. On 30th June alone, the torch will travel by road, tram and canal boat on its visit to the Black Country Living Museum.
From the Midlands, the torch will travel to the North West, visiting Jodrell Bank in Cheshire and taking a steamer across Lake Windermere. In the North East, St Mary’s Lighthouse at Whitley Bay, the Angel of the North, Penshaw Monument and Hadrian’s Wall are all en route, making for some excellent photo opportunities, and the Flame will even travel by zip wire off the iconic Tyne Bridge in Newcastle Gateshead.
Travelling past the Humber Bridge, Leeds’ Victoria Arcade and Yorkshire Sculpture Park will epitomise the journey through Yorkshire, where the Flame will travel on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, abseil down the Dock Tower in Grimsby and speed from York to Thirsk by the Flying Scotsman.
In the East Midlands, the Robin Hood statue in Nottingham, National Space Centre in Leicester and Bletchley Park all feature along the route with time scheduled for Olympic Flame ice skating at the National Ice Centre and taking the Abraham cable car in Matlock. Continuing to East Anglia, the torch will pass the charming Southwold Beach Huts of Suffolk and Colchester Castle before it travels to Lee Valley White Water Centre – an Olympic venue – for a journey on the water.
In its final pre-London leg, the Olympic torch will visit Stoke Mandeville stadium, Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower, Petworth House, BattleAbbey and the Margate Turner Contemporary gallery. It will travel by rowing boat in Henley-on-Thames, take a chair lift on the Needles in the Isle of Wight and join some Paralympic cycling at Brand’s Hatch.
On 20th July 2012, the Olympic Flame will arrive at the Tower of London and in following days pass through Greenwich, Redbridge, Lewisham, Kingston-upon-Thames, Harrow, Camden and Hampton Court Palace before travelling along the River Thames to the Olympic stadium.
For more information, see the interactive map at www.london2012.com/olympictorchrelaymap
Ends
For more information contact:
Laura Smith / Rebecca Holloway
VisitEngland Press Office
Tel: 020 7578 1400
Email: laura.smith@visitengland.org / Rebecca.holloway@visitengland.org
Notes to Editors:
About VisitEngland
• VisitEngland is the country’s national tourist board. We work in partnership with the industry to develop the visitor experience across England, plan national tourism strategy, grow the value of tourism in England and provide advocacy for the industry and our visitors
• Our work is underpinned by robust research and customer insights. You can access the latest in-depth market intelligence and statistics on www.visitengland.org/insight-statistics
• VisitEngland markets England under the Enjoy England consumer brand in the domestic market and markets England under the VisitEngland brand internationally
About England
• England is a unique destination and a real powerhouse in global tourism. It represents 84 percent of the total UK visitor economy, is worth £97 billion, and supports in excess of 2 million jobs
• More information can be found on www.enjoyengland.com and www.visitengland.org