Royal Borough welcome for London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Route: Olympic Flame headed for Bisham, Maidenhead, Windsor and Ascot

7th November 2011

Local residents will have the opportunity to share in the excitement of the London 2012 Torch Relay with the news that the Olympic Flame will be carried through the Royal Borough on Tuesday 10 July 2012.

Bisham, Maidenhead, Windsor and Ascot are four of more than 1,000 villages, towns and cities through which the iconic flame will be carried next spring and summer and where local residents will be able to join in the national celebrations.

Today’s announcement was by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). The relay is presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung.

Cllr Simon Dudley, council deputy leader and cabinet lead for the 2012 Games, said he was thrilled by the news that the Royal Borough would play such a key part in the torch relay spectacle.

He said: “The council and our local MPs have campaigned to bring the torch relay to the borough and, with four local areas now involved, we will all have the opportunity of joining in the Games celebrations. Tuesday 10 July will be a chance for communities to welcome the flame, get together and share the Olympic spirit and be part of the countdown to the Games themselves – as well as showing support for the remarkable people who will be chosen as torchbearers.”

Sebastian Coe, chair of LOCOG, said: ‘We are thrilled to confirm that Bisham, Maidenhead, Windsor and Ascot will act as host locations for the Olympic Flame, extending an invitation to people in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead 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 the Royal Borough 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.”

While today’s announcement highlights the communities through which the flame will travel, the street-by-street detail of the route will be confirmed by LOCOG early next year.

The 70-day Olympic Torch Relay will start at Land’s End, Cornwall, on the morning of 19 May 2012. It will travel some 8,000 miles around the UK on the route that will take it within 10 miles of 95% of the population. People are invited to view the interactive route map at www.london2012.com/olympictorchrelaymap.

On the final day of the relay the flame will travel down the River Thames to the Olympic Stadium for the lighting of the cauldron at the Games opening ceremony on 27 July 2012.

The flame will be carried by 8,000 inspirational torchbearers who will each have a story of personal achievement and/or contribution to the local community. Next month successful nominees will be contacted with a conditional offer and final places will start to be confirmed from February 2012.

LOCOG has also launched today two new public participation programmes:

• Local Leaders – 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 get themed celebration ideas and free London 2012 event materials.
• Get Set for the Olympic Torch Relay – an education resource for 3 to 16-year-olds to aid learning around history of Olympic Torch Relays, the design of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay and the torch itself. A further education resource will be launched 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, has also launched its Flame Followers schools programme which complements the Get Set resources and gives schools once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to be right at the heart of the relay excitement and celebrations.