15/08/2012

Scouts To Light Paralympic Flame Across UK

The Paralympic torch relay will be launched by Scouts the lighting of four flames atop the highest peak in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The flames will be lit on August 22 on Scafell Pike, Snowdon, Ben Nevis and Slieve Donard on 22 August.

After the flame has been lit it will visit UK capital cities before uniting in the home of the Paralympic movement, Stoke Mandeville.

On 28 August an overnight relay route will see the Paralympic flame carried 92 miles by 580 torchbearers, working in teams of five, from Stoke Mandeville Stadium through Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and all six of London's host boroughs to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford.

Some of its stops along the way will include:

• The National Spinal Injuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville

• The famous Abbey Road crossing in Camden, where the

torchbearers include wheelchair basketball and badminton player

Philip Tew

• Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, where it will be carried

by five members of the UK's first blind women's cricket team

• London Zoo

• Piccadilly Circus

• Tower Bridge, carried by coach David Walkerdine who was

nominated by Paralympian Richard Whitehead

• Hackney Town Hall

• Marsh Lane Playing Fields in Waltham Forest

• Stratford Park in Newham

"By creating the four flames through human endeavour at the four highest peaks in the UK we will ensure that the spirit of each home nation is represented in the Paralympic Flame," said Lord Coe.

He urged spectators support the Paralympic torch relay by taking lanterns to a flame festival, supporting a torchbearer or lining the route of the 24-hour relay.

(H)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

24 August 2012
Light The Way To The Paralympic Games
A celebration cauldron has been lit in Trafalgar Square in London using the English National Flame created by Scouts at Scafell Pike, England's highest peak. The cauldron was lit by Claire Lomas, who was an event rider and chiropractor until an eventing accident in 2007 left her paralysed from the chest down.
27 July 2012
Olympic Flame Takes To The Thames For Its Journey To The Opening Ceremony
After 69 days travelling the length and breadth of the UK, today the Flame embarks on its final journey towards the Olympic Stadium for tonight's Opening Ceremony.
25 March 2004
Olympic torch lit in Athens as Games countdown begins
The countdown to the Athens 2004 Olympic Games began today with the lighting of the Olympic flame in ancient Olympia, Greece. The lighting ceremony featured a high priestess who lit the Olympic flame in the Temple of Hera using a parabolic mirror to capture the sun’s rays and ignite an Olympic torch.
18 May 2011
First Olympic Torch Relay Locations Announced
From Lands End to London via all the nations and regions of the UK, the first locations on the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay route have been announced.
29 August 2012
Countdown To Paralympic Opening Ceremony Begins
The Paralympic Opening Ceremony will take place at the Olympic Stadium tonight. Co-Artistic Directors Jenny Sealey and Bradley Hemmings say the Ceremony will be a celebration of the inspirational spirit of the Paralympic Games that challenges perceptions of human possibility. At 8.