Paralympic Flame to go to new heights

15/08/2012

As the countdown begins to the London 2012 Paralympic Games, the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) has revealed details of how the Paralympic Flame will be created and the route it will take during the 24-hour Torch Relay.On Wednesday 22 August, with just one week to go to the Games, four Flames will be lit at the summit of the highest peaks of the four UK nations on Wednesday 22 August. 

Groups of disabled and non-disabled Scouts will ascend Scafell Pike (England), Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa (Wales), Ben Nevis (Scotland) and Slieve Donard (Northern Ireland) where they will use the traditional technique of rubbing flint to create sparks and kindle a flame.

Sebastian Coe, Chair of LOCOG, said: ‘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.’

The Flames will then be transferred to each nation’s capital city where they will each become the focus for a day of Paralympic celebrations. On Tuesday 28 August the Flames will be united in Stoke Mandeville – the spiritual home of the Paralympic Movement – to create the London 2012 Paralympic Flame.

At 8pm that evening, the Paralympic Flame will embark on its 24-hour Relay, with 116 teams of five Torchbearers set to carry the Flame on its journey to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford.

The teams of Torchbearers have been selected through public nomination campaigns run by BT, Lloyds TSB and Sainsbury as well as the British Paralympic Association, and have been chosen for the way they represent the Paralympic Values.

They include five members of the UK’s first blind cricket team, five PE teachers from Davenant Foundation School nominated for their dedication to teaching Paralympic sports, and Argyle Bird, a 13-year-old from Hull who has not let his disability get in the way of him taking part in sport. Find out more about the Torchbearers

The Paralympic Torch Relay will travel through some of the communities of Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, before visiting all six host boroughs and a number of London landmarks. View the route map