Simplified 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay route map. The curve does not follow the actual route but merely shows the progress of the torch through the places labelled as follows:
Legend
England
1.
Land's End
Day 1,
Sat
19
May
2.
Plymouth
Day 1,
Sat
19
May
3.
Exeter
Day 2,
Sun
20
May
4.
Taunton
Day 3,
Mon
21
May
5.
Bristol
Day 4,
Tue
22
May
6.
Cheltenham
Day 5,
Wed
23
May
7.
Worcester
Day 6,
Thu
24
May
8.
Malvern, Worcestershire
Day 7,
Fri
25
May
Wales
9.
Cardiff
Day 7,
Fri
25
May
10.
Swansea
Day 8,
Sat
26
May
11.
Aberystwyth
Day 9,
Sun
27
May
12.
Bangor, Gwynedd
Day 10,
Mon
28
May
England
13.
Chester
Day 11,
Tue
29
May
14.
Stoke-on-Trent
Day 12,
Wed
30
May
15.
Bolton
Day 13,
Thu
31
May
16.
Liverpool
Day 14,
Fri
1
June
Crown Dependency
17.
Isle of Man
Day 15,
Sat
2
June
Northern Ireland
18.
Portrush
Day 16,
Sun
3
June
19.
Derry
Day 17,
Mon
4
June
20.
Newry
Day 18,
Tue
5
June
Republic of Ireland
21.
Dublin
Day 19,
Wed
6
June
Northern Ireland
22.
Belfast
Day 19,
Wed
6
June
Scotland
23.
Glasgow
Day 21,
Fri
8
June
24.
Inverness
Day 22,
Sat
9
June
25.
Orkney
Day 23,
Sun
10
June
26.
Shetland
Day 23,
Sun
10
June
27.
Isle of Lewis
Day 24,
Mon
11
June
28.
Aberdeen
Day 24,
Mon
11
June
29.
Dundee
Day 25,
Tue
12
June
30.
Edinburgh
Day 26,
Wed
13
June
England
31.
Alnwick
Day 27,
Thu
14
June
32.
Newcastle upon Tyne
Day 28,
Fri
15
June
33.
Durham, England
Day 29,
Sat
16
June
34.
Middlesbrough
Day 30,
Sun
17
June
35.
Kingston-upon-Hull
Day 31,
Mon
18
June
36.
York
Day 32,
Tue
19
June
37.
Carlisle, Cumbria
Day 33,
Wed
20
June
38.
Bowness-on-Windermere
Day 34,
Thu
21
June
39.
Blackpool
Day 35,
Fri
22
June
40.
Manchester
Day 36,
Sat
23
June
41.
Leeds
Day 37,
Sun
24
June
42.
Sheffield
Day 38,
Mon
25
June
43.
Cleethorpes
Day 39,
Tue
26
June
44.
Lincoln, England
Day 40,
Wed
27
June
45.
Nottingham
Day 41,
Thu
28
June
46.
Derby
Day 42,
Fri
29
June
47.
Birmingham
Day 43,
Sat
30
June
48.
Coventry
Day 44,
Sun
1
July
49.
Leicester
Day 45,
Mon
2
July
50.
Peterborough
Day 46,
Tue
3
July
51.
Norwich
Day 47,
Wed
4
July
52.
Ipswich
Day 48,
Thu
5
July
53.
Chelmsford
Day 49,
Fri
6
July
54.
Cambridge
Day 50,
Sat
7
July
55.
Luton
Day 51,
Sun
8
July
56.
Oxford
Day 52,
Mon
9
July
57.
Reading, Berkshire
Day 53,
Tue
10
July
58.
Basingstoke
Day 54,
Wed
11
July
59.
Winchester
Day 54,
Wed
11
July
60.
Salisbury
Day 54,
Wed
11
July
61.
Weymouth and Portland
Day 55,
Thu
12
July
62.
Bournemouth
Day 56,
Fri
13
July
63.
Southampton
Day 57,
Sat
14
July
Crown Dependencies
64.
Guernsey
Day 58,
Sun
15
July
65.
Jersey
Day 58,
Sun
15
July
England
66.
Portsmouth
Day 58,
Sun
15
July
67.
Brighton and Hove
Day 59,
Mon
16
July
68.
Hastings
Day 60,
Tue
17
July
69.
Dover
Day 61,
Wed
18
July
70.
Maidstone
Day 62,
Thu
19
July
71.
Guildford
Day 63,
Fri
20
July
72.
Waltham Forest
Day 64,
Sat
21
July
73.
Bexley
Day 65,
Sun
22
July
74.
Wandsworth
Day 66,
Mon
23
July
75.
Ealing
Day 67,
Tue
24
July
76.
Haringey
Day 68,
Wed
25
July
77.
Westminster
Day 69,
Thu
26
July
78.
Olympic Stadium
Day 70,
Fri
27
July
The 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from 19 May until 27 July, prior to the London 2012 Summer Olympics. The torch bearer selection process was announced on 18 May 2011.[1]
The UK torch relay lasted 70 days, with 66 evening celebrations. About 8,000 people carried the torch a total distance of about 8,000 miles (12,800 km), starting from Land's End in Cornwall. The route was widely reported and designed in such a way as to ensure that the Torch came within 10 miles of 95% of the UK population. A wide range of people carried the torch around the country, mostly sports men and women, military figures and other local heroes from towns and cities across the UK. A number of celebrities also held the flame on its journey, including Matt Smith, Patrick Stewart, Jamie Oliver, Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders (jointly), Rupert Grint, James McAvoy, Melanie C from Spice Girls, boy band The Wanted, dance troupe and Britain's Got Talent winners Diversity and Sir Bruce Forsyth.[3] The torch had a day outside of the United Kingdom in Dublin on 6 June[4] (as well as visits to the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man). The relay focused on national heritage sites, locations with sporting significance, key sporting events, schools registered with the Get Set School Network, green spaces, biodiversity, 'Live Sites' (locations with large screens), local festivals, and other events.[5]
Following a three-month tour by LOCOG, local authorities submitted ideas to regional government and LOCOG by May 2010.[6] However some counties such as Somerset declined to put forward ideas citing potential costs of up to £300,000.[7]
The start date for the Relay was announced on 26 May 2010, as were the three presenting partners: Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung. The nomination campaign for torchbearers was announced on 18 May 2011 and called 'Moment to Shine'.[8]
Journey to the UK
On 16 May a British AirwaysAirbus A319, with custom gold livery and named "The Firefly", flew from Heathrow to Athens to collect the flame.[9] On 18 May the aircraft flew as flight BA2012 from Athens to RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall. The flame was not extinguished during flight, having been classified as a 'ceremonial flame' by the Civil Aviation Authority, but was kept in four Davy lamps secured in a cradle firmly fixed to seats in Row 1. There was enough smokeless fuel to last 30 hours.[10][11][12]
The Princess Royal, Mayor of London Boris Johnson, Lord Coe, and David Beckham were among 80 invited guests, along with a group of teenagers: rugby player Dennis Coles from East Ayrshire representing Scotland, hockey player Chloe Brown from Bangor representing Northern Ireland, athlete Sean White from Swansea representing Wales, hockey player Georgia Higgs from Cornwall, and Sakinah Muhammad from Hackney representing London.[13][14]
In the summer of 2010, the Design Council were commissioned to prepare the design brief and begin the search for a design for the Torch and related relay artifacts. With more than 800 designers interested in the project, a short list of 22 was presented to Locog. 6 were selected to present designs the selection being made a few months later. The winning design came from Barber Osgerby, led by Edward Barder and Jay Osgerby.
Their design of the 2012 Olympic Torches was made of two aluminium alloy skin, perforated by 8,000 holes to represent the 8,000 torchbearers who would carry the flame. Technically the holes also helped to dissipate heat without it being conducted down the handle, and provided extra grip.
The triangular shape of torches represented:
The three Olympic values – respect, excellence and friendship.
The three elements of the Olympic motto – faster, higher, stronger.
The gold of the torches represented the qualities of the Olympic flame – brightness and warmth. The torch stands 80 centimetres (31 in) high, weighing 800 grams (1.8 lb).[16] To realise this award-winning design, TECOSIM (an engineering company) was responsible for the research, engineering and technical development of the torch and associated relay items including the celebration cauldrons. Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) was used to simulate various scenarios that the torch might encounter during the relay, from environmental conditions to physical damage. Torch bearer safety was of prime importance at all times, so TECOSIM completed rigorous physical testing to validate the design. It was tested to withstand all likely weather conditions, from high winds to rain and snow at altitude utilizing the BMW Climatic Windtunnel in Munich as well as in field-testing. Production of the torches started towards the end of 2011.
Fuel
LOCOG, together with sustainability partner and sponsor EDF Energy, committed in 2009 to provide a "low-carbon fuel solution for the flames of the Olympic torch and the cauldron".[17] When the torch was unveiled on 8 June 2011, London 2012's chairman Sebastian Coe admitted the failure of the initiative, as "In simple terms, we didn't quite get there ... We just ran [out] of time and we tried very hard to do it". The final design of the torch used a "tried and tested formula" of butane and propane.[18]
Turnout
Around 3,000 people were said to have been at Land's End to send the Torch on its way on Day 1, while Day 2 saw police deliberately limit crowds at the Shaldon Bridge at Teignmouth, Devon, to around 7,000, while the various stages through Plymouth were said to have attracted 55,000. [19] Photographs similarly show crowds up to 10 deep on each side of the road in central Falmouth (Day 1). Arriving in Wales for the first time on Day 8, the torch was reported as being greeted by 25,000 in Caerphilly. Numbers lining the route in no way abated as the days passed, with Bowness by Lake Windermere, for example, mustering 5,000 on Day 34; Skegness, Lincolnshire (a town of less than 20,000 people) featuring 5-deep crowds along both sides of its streets on Day 40; and Maidstone on Day 62 playing host to an estimated 40,000-strong crowd. As the relay reached London, the numbers of people turning out were still more exceptional, with much of Oxford Street featuring crowds 13-deep on both sides (on Day 69). That day ended with a 60,000-strong crowd for the evening events in Hyde Park. The Police Service gave an estimate for the UK as a whole of some 12 million people lining the route for the torch.
Controversy
In early June, as the torch relay entered its third week, it was revealed that many of those selected to carry torches on the relay were corporate executives with commercial ties to Olympic sponsors.[20][21]
Security
The torch was escorted by a team of trained officers from the Metropolitan Police Service known as the Torch Security Team. These were chosen from 644 initial applications through an eight-month selection process. Their primary role was to protect the Olympic and Paralympic Flames as well as ensuring the safety of the torchbearer. These "runners" formed part of a wider torch security team which consisted of motorcyclists, pedal cyclists, senior officers and operational planners.
Incidents
Near Land's End, one man broke past the pace car but was swiftly tackled to the ground by the Torch Security Team, as he was thought to be trying to reach the torchbearer.[22]
In Derry, Northern Ireland, scuffles broke out between police and republican protesters, as they blocked the planned route near the Guildhall. Consequently, the relay was forced to divert in order to reach the Peace Bridge.[23]
At Bishop Auckland in County Durham, the torchbearer was Kieran Maxwell, a 13-year-old from Newton Aycliffe. He had been diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma in 2010 and lost part of his left leg. He fell whilst carrying the torch but was quickly helped to his feet by the Torch Security Team.[24]
As the torch was leaving Headingley towards Leeds, a man with a bucket of water was seen in the crowd. He was swiftly tackled by the security team before he could empty the contents.[25]
A male streaker with 'Free Tibet' written on his back was arrested on 10 July, after running in front of the torch as it passed through Henley-on-Thames.[27][28]
A 17-year-old was arrested on 20 July in Gravesend, Kent after unsuccessfully attempting to grab the torch while screaming 'Allahu Akbar'.[29]
Modes of transport
As well as road runners, the Flame was conveyed on other modes of transport, sometimes kept in Davy lamps.
The torch arrived aboard a speedboat piloted by David Beckham, via the Limehouse Cut. Steve Redgrave received the flame from young footballer Jade Bailey,[58][59] the torchbearer on the boat, and carried it into the Olympic Stadium.[38] Then Redgrave handed the torch to the seven young athletes, each one nominated by an athlete. The athletes then each applied their torch to one of the 204 petals, which then lit and converged to create the cauldron, which was designed by Thomas Heatherwick.