Newham welcomes
Olympic Flame
The London Borough of Newham has
today been named as one of the 1,018 cities, towns and villages on
the route of the Olympic Torch Relay.
Between 18 May and 27 July, the Olympic Flame will come
to within just ten miles of 95% of the population of the UK. It
will come to Newham on Saturday 21 July 2012 - the day of the
Mayor's Newham Show.
Mayor Sir Robin Wales celebrated
with youngsters at Stratford's Sarah Bonnell School, where a
competition was held amongst pupils to design an Olympic torch of
their own.
He said: "The Olympic Torch relay will be an exciting spectacle
and will be a great opportunity for us all to see the Olympic flame
and celebrate the rich cultures that make up our community.
"Rest assured we will be putting on a fantastic party in the
spirit of the Games which inspires our residents, many of whom will
be local heroes who have been nominated by the public to run with
the flame."
Sarah Bonnell pupil Fatima Najam, 15, who designed the school's
winning torch said: "I wanted something that really inspires young
people to grasp the values of the Games. I cannot wait to see the
real torch next year."
The 2012 Games torch will be carried across the country during a
70-day relay in the weeks leading up to the 2012 Games, with around
8,000 people getting the chance to carry the torch along the
way.
The Olympic torch relay will start at Land's End on the morning of
May 19, and will travel an estimated 8,000 miles around the UK. The
street-by-street detail of the route through Newham will not be
confirmed until next year.
On the final day of the relay, the organisers expect the Olympic
flame to travel down the River Thames to the Olympic Stadium in
Stratford on July 27, for the lighting of the cauldron at the
opening ceremony, signifying the official start of the
Games.