• Today the Relay will travel 98.90 miles
• 131 Torchbearers will carry the Flame
• Evening celebration to take place at Durham University Racecourse
• Images from today can be downloaded here
The Relay will travel through the following communities: Gateshead, South Shields, Whitburn, Sunderland, Lowfell & Chowdene, Blaydon, Prudhoe, Stocksfield, Hexham, Riding Mill, Consett, Moorside, Castleside, Tow Law, Esh, Langley Park and Durham.
Highlights for today include:
6.25am – The first Torchbearer of the day will be Richard Jackson, 45, from Seaton Sluice. He will start with the Flame on the roof of The Sage, Gateshead and then abseil down.
At the bottom he will hand the Flame to Abby Knox, 12, from Gateshead. Abby was nominated for being instrumental in promoting sport in her school.
7.36am – Jon Mellish, 14, from South Shields, will carry the Flame into Gateshead International Stadium and run around the track. Jon was nominated through the LOCOG public nomination campaign for being inspirational to his dad. Amongst other things he plays elite football and rugby and was recently won Editors Choice Overall Sports Personality in the South Tyneside sports awards.
Part way round the track he will hand the Flame to Andrew Moore, 36, from Gateshead, who will complete the lap of the track and then head out of the stadium. Andrew was nominated through the LOCOG public nomination campaign for the way that he has coped with his blindness and helped fellow blind people to grow in confidence and become independent.
8.18am – Haile Gebrselassie, will carry the Flame along Coast Road in South Shields. He has won two Olympic gold medals in 10,000m, four World Championship titles and four Indoor titles. He has also won numerous marathons and set 27 world records.
He will hand the Flame to Brendan Foster, who will carry the Flame across the Great North Run finish line. He competed in three Olympic Games and won the only track and field in the 10,000 metres in Montreal in 1976. During the heats he set an Olympic record which lasted until 1984. In 1973 he broke the World Record for two miles at Crystal Palace.
9.44am - The Flame will be carried into the Sunderland Aquatic Centre.
12pm – Iris Hutchinson, 69 will carry the Flame to the Angel of the North. Iris was selected through the Lloyds TSB campaign for all the voluntary work that she does in the local area.
Charlotte Proud, 20, from Gateshead, will carry the Flame to Hadrian’s Wall. Charlotte was nominated through the LOCOG public nomination campaign for how she has overcome brittle bone disease to take up coaching and refereeing football in the local area.
6.05pm – Dennis Laycock, 61, from Durham, will carry the Flame in the sidecar of a 1920’s motorbike. Dennis was nominated for the work he has done to generate interest in tennis in the local area.
6.50pm – The last Torchbearer of the day, TV presenter Matt Baker, will carry the Flame into Durham University Racecourse for the Evening Celebration. Matt was born in Durham and as a child he was a British gymnast and sports acrobatics champion. Since becoming a TV presenter he has undertaken a number of challenges to raise money for charities such as Children in Need.
The evening celebration will take place at Durham University Racecourse.
The evening celebration will feature a variety of entertainment staged by LOCOG and the three Presenting Partners of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay - Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung - with support from Durham County Council. The show will start at 5pm.
The line-up includes music from Little Comets, a dance troupe who will provide a unique fusion of street performance, theatre and sport and dance act Twist and Pulse. There will also be entertainment from local acts staged by Durham County Council.
Towards the end of the two-hour show, the last Torchbearer of the day in Durham – Matt Baker - will light a celebration cauldron on stage at the event which will enable the Olympic Flame to be seen by the audience.
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Other Torchbearer highlights include:
Steve Cram, 51 will carry the flame in Sunderland. Steve is one of the UK's greatest middle distance runners. Competed in 3 Olympic Games and won silver in 1984 in the 1500m, Steve famously claimed 3 world records in 19 days in 1985.
Mia Rathband, 13, will be carrying the Flame in Whitburn. Mia is running in the memory of her dad - PC David Rathband. David had been offered this place but unfortunately passed away in February of this year.
Jessica Boyce, 19, from Sunderland, will carry the Flame in Sunderland. She was nominated through the LOCOG public nomination campaign for the way she has overcome her Asperger Syndrome to play a number of sports and win an internship at Sunderland Royal Hospital.
Nazmin Akthar, 24, from Newcastle, will carry the Flame in Newcastle. She was selected through the Coca-Cola Future Flames programme. She dreams of becoming a barrister to help the neediest in society. Her passion to help others is demonstrated by her giving up her time to work on immigration cases for those who have no representation.
Nigel Cook, 44, from Consett, will carry the Flame in Consett. He was nominated through Lloyds TSB's public nomination campaign and is a trustee of Willowburn hospice in Lanchester. He is looking to gain enough funds to build a new hospice over the last 10 months, he has ran 10 half marathons in 10 different countries and raised an amazing £23,000.
Stefanie Lesterhuis, 28, from the Netherlands, will carry the Flame in Sunderland. Until her 22th birthday, Stefanie's one and only dream was to succeed in qualifying for the Olympic Games. Her world collapsed when she suffered from a very severe pulmonary embolism. She had to stop top-class sport in the Netherlands but she couldn't give up sports entirely: after a few months of training, she finished a marathon and has also started her own physiotherapy practice. Her dream to once compete in the Olympic Games is gone but maybe she can somehow still live this dream by being a torchbearer.
James Williams, Director, Olympic Torch Relay, Coca-Cola Northwest Europe & Nordics, said: “Today, two more Coca-Cola Future Flames will help us celebrate the twenty-ninth day of our amazing journey, when Nazmin Akthar and Liam Wooton carry the Olympic Flame in Sunderland. We will also get everyone to Move to the Beat tonight as we bring Little Comets to the stage in Durham.”
Sally Hancock, Director, London 2012 Partnership at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “We are really looking forward to continuing the Flame’s journey through North West England and bringing the excitement of London 2012 to the heart of communities along the route. Lloyds TSB is proud to be creating as many opportunities as possible for people to get involved as the Olympic Flame passes their front doors. We’re calling on everyone to cheer on their local Lloyds TSB Torchbearers – extraordinary people like Kaye Dixon and Nigel Cook, running in Sunderland and Consett. The Lloyds TSB Flame Followers will also light up the route ahead of the Flame, before their Flame Followers Spectacular performance in Durham tonight.”
Sunny Hwang, Vice President & Head of Global Sports Marketing, Samsung Electronics, said: "Samsung's Olympic Torch Relay campaign shares the Olympic spirit and encourages everyone to take part in London 2012. Samsung has offered an inspiring opportunity to people around the world to carry the Olympic Flame, as part of our ambition to make London 2012 Everyone's Olympic Games."
-Ends-
For further information please contact the London 2012 Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 100 or visit the website at www.london2012.com. Find out the latest from London 2012 HQ on our blog http://blog.london2012.com or follow us on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/london2012
Notes to editors:
Each day two short packages of broadcast footage will be made available. The packages will be available via the Footage library – accessible from the Media Centre on london2012.com and direct from this link http://footagelibrary.london2012.com. Media will need to register for access in advance. Registration is free.
The broadcast of the Olympic Torch Relay is provided for Editorial Use Only. There can be no commercial association, no third party association and no commercial/ad superimposition on the video footage, unless the prior written consent of the IOC is acquired.
About the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Presenting Partners:
As the longest standing Presenting Partner of the Olympic Torch Relay, Coca-Cola will be using its heritage and experience to spread excitement across the UK ahead of London 2012. Coca-Cola's national nomination campaign - Future Flames – has focused on finding inspirational young people from across the country to have the once in a lifetime opportunity to carry the Olympic Flame. This summer Coca-Cola will celebrate these Future Flames: young people who use their passions in areas like sport and physical activity, music and dance, and community and the environment; to spread happiness in their local communities. Find out more at: www.coca-cola.co.uk/olympic-games
As the only National Presenting Partner of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, Lloyds TSB will be taking the inspiration and excitement of the Olympic Flame right to the heart of communities across the UK. As part of Lloyds Banking Group, Bank of Scotland will be the National Presenting Partner in Scotland. We are creating as many opportunities as possible for communities the length and breadth of the UK to get involved as the Flame travels past their front doors.
Lloyds Banking Group is Britain’s biggest corporate investor in UK communities and in 2011 invested £85 million and as part of the Group’s Community Investment Programme, we’ve launched the Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund to give back to the communities in which we operate and pass through on our journey with the Olympic Flame. We’re inviting everyone to visit the Lloyds TSB stand at each Evening Celebration to vote for a community project in their area that inspires and supports young people. By voting at the Evening Celebration members of the public will automatically enter a draw to win four tickets to London 2012. The two projects that receive the most votes at each locality will each win a £5,000 grant from Lloyds Banking Group. At the Lloyds TSB site members of the public will also have the opportunity to have their photo taken with the Olympic Torch, meet Lloyds TSB Local Heroes – the future stars of Team GB and ParalympicsGB – and get up close to our Flame Followers. To find out how you can join in the celebrations with Lloyds TSB (in your community please visit www.lloydstsb.com/london2012
As a Presenting Partner of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, Samsung aims to encourage everyone to be part of the greatest show on Earth to make London 2012 ‘Everyone’s Olympic Games.’ We aspire to offer new and memorable experiences for everyone around the world through our own innovative and smart wireless technology. Samsung is providing 1,360 Torchbearers, who have “gone the extra mile” by contributing to the local communities, through its worldwide public nomination campaign. In total over 25,000 nominations were received. Samsung will support towns and cities to celebrate the exciting moment of the Torch Relay and help showcase Great Britain’s cultural landmarks to provide a more enjoyable experience to everyone. The evening celebrations that will be staged by Samsung in 66 towns and cities throughout the Olympic Flame’s journey across the UK, will allow Samsung to entertain the community they are visiting. The Samsung caravan, complete with LED screen on the side showcasing runners and goodwill messages, will follow the Torchbearers around the UK cheering up everyone to celebrate the Torch Relay with music and interaction with local communities. It is Samsung’s ambition that London 2012 will be an event that reaches and involves more people than on any other Olympic Games occasion. To learn more about Samsung’s London 2012 Olympic programme, please visit www.samsung.com/london2012
The Supporters of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay are:
Worldwide Olympic Partners Procter and Gamble and Visa, Tier One Partners adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT and EDF, Tier Three Providers Aggreko, Holiday Inn and NATURE VALLEY.
The BBC will be providing extensive coverage of the Torch Relay on television, radio and online. This will include special Breakfast shows on every BBC local radio station, and extended live coverage of an evening celebration event in every Nation and English Region. Full details of the coverage will be at bbc.co.uk/2012.
London 2012 Games partners:
The Worldwide Olympic Partners who support the London 2012 Olympic Games and the National Olympic Committees around the world are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow Chemical Company, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.
LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS.
There are now twenty-eight domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, G4S, GSK, Gymnova, Heathrow Airport, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, NATURE VALLEY, Next, Nielsen, Populous, Rapiscan Systems, Rio Tinto, Technogym, Thames Water, Ticketmaster, Trebor and Westfield
