On Tuesday 17 July, the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay – presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung – will travel 108.86 miles through 13 communities on its journey from Brighton and Hove to Hastings.
The Relay will travel through the following communities: Brighton and Hove, Crawley, Copthorne, Felbridge, East Grinstead, Tunbridge Wells, Crowborough, Lewes, Eastbourne, Pevensey, Bexhill on Sea, St Leonards on Sea, Hastings.
Highlights for today include:
7.20am - Pavilion Gardens: Zachary Narvaez, 17, from Brighton and Hove will carry the Flame as the first Torchbearer of the day. Zach was nominated by Brighton and Hove Council through the LOCOG programme for being an outstanding pupil at Dorothy Stringer School. He is always willing to help other people and get involved in every aspect of school life. He has set up a charity to raise funds for hospice and cancer research and is Chair of the School Council and Eco Committee as well as being Deputy Head Boy.
8.15am to 8.30am at Seven Sisters Cliffs - A Torchbearer will carry the Flame with Beachy Head in the background in a spectacular coastal photo opportunity.
11.48am – The Pantiles,Tunbridge Wells: Vanessa Burns, 15, from Tunbridge Wells will carry the Flame along the Pantiles. Vanessa was selected through the Coca-Cola Future Flames programme for her courage and determination through different treatments to lengthen one of her legs.
12.27pm to 12.47pm at Tonbridge Castle: Dame Kelly Holmes and Frank Verge who carried the Olympic Flame from Platt through Ightham in the 1948 Torch Relay will carry the Flame in the grounds of the castle for a special photo moment with invited local school children. Dame Kelly and Frank will take the Flame in a Torch to the Castle Wall for the wider Tonbridge community to see the Olympic Flame.
6.50pm - Last Torchbearer of the day Keith Leech, 57, from Hastings will carry the Flame on the stage at the Stade Open Space in Hastings. Keith was nominated by Hastings Borough Council through the LOCOG campaign for his contribution to reviving and promoting two major English customs via the Jack in the Green event and the Hastings Bonfire Procession. Both events bring enjoyment to residents and visitors to Hastings and his knowledge of and work on English customs are internationally recognised.
The evening celebration will take place at The Stade Open Space in Hastings. It 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.
Coca- Cola will be showcasing Rizzle Kicks at the event. There will also be entertainment from a dance troupe who will provide a unique fusion of street performance, theatre and sport and dance act Twist and Pulse.
Local acts set to entertain the crowds include dance routine celebrating a 'History of Hastings' led by Helenswood School and a community choir led by Hastings Philharmonic Choir.
Towards the end of the two-hour show, the last Torchbearer of the day – Keith Leech - will light a celebration cauldron on stage at the event which will enable the Olympic Flame to be seen by the audience.
Only ticket holders will be able to see the stage; anyone without tickets won't be able to see the show from outside the Stade area, and will be encouraged to go to Pelham Place car park, where roadshows from the Presenting Partners will entertain with activities and merchandise and a large screen will show a live feed of the Torch and the Stade Open Space event.
Torchbearer highlights:
Eddie Izzard who hails from Bexhill-on-Sea will carry the Flame there recognition of the amazing 43 marathons that he ran in 51 days for Sport Relief in August 2009. Eddie raised in excess of £1.85 million to help people who live incredibly tough lives, both at home in the UK and across the world's poorest countries.
Rizzle Kicks - Jordan Stephens and Harvey Alexander-Sule – will carry the Flame in Eastbourne ahead of their performance at the Hastings evening celebration. Brighton hip hop duo, Rizzle Kicks were selected by Coca-Cola and are helping to celebrate inspirational Future Flames by performing at Evening Celebrations across South East England and at the Torch Relay Finale Concert in London's Hyde Park.
Eddie Kidd, 53, from Peacehaven will carry the Flame in Lewes. He was selected through the Lloyds TSB campaign for walking the 2011 London Marathon in 50 days and raising over £100,000. Eddie achieved 14 world records as a top stunt sportsman before a stunt left Eddie injured and a wheelchair user.
Mark Hawkins, 26, who is carrying the Flame in Crawley is a handball player and Lloyds TSB Local Hero from Horsham, selected by Lloyds TSB because of his commitment and dedication to his sport of handball and inspiring his peers by working with local children in his community during off season.
Martyn Compton, 28, from Battle was nominated through LOCOG campaign and will carry the Flame in Hastings for his service record, bravery, fundraising and positive attitude to life having suffered extensive injuries whilst serving in Afghanistan in 2006 with D Squadron, The Household Cavalry Regiment.
Freddy Mouland, 12, from Peacehaven, was nominated through the LOCOG Get Set Education programme. Freddy will carry the Flame in Brighton in recognition of his contribution to school life. He is a strong role model to his peers around him as he strives for excellence and will always overcome the challenges he is faced with.
James Williams, Director, Olympic Torch Relay, Coca-Cola Northwest Europe & Nordics, said: “Today, with just ten days to go, more Coca-Cola Future Flames will help us celebrate the sixtieth day of our amazing journey, including Ben Marshall and Vanessa Burns who carry the Olympic Flame in Copthorne and Royal Tunbridge Wells. We will also get everyone to Move to the Beat tonight as we bring Rizzle Kicks to the stage in Hastings.”
Sally Hancock, Director, London 2012 Partnership at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “We are proud to be bringing the excitement of London 2012 to communities along the route of the Olympic Torch Relay between Brighton and Hastings today. Lloyds TSB is creating as many opportunities as possible for people to get involved as the Olympic Flame passes their door. We’re calling on everyone to cheer on their local Lloyds TSB Torchbearers – extraordinary people like Mark Hawkins and Eddie Kidd, carrying the Flame in Crawley and Lewes. The Lloyds TSB Flame Followers will also light up the route ahead of the Flame, before their Flame Followers Spectacular performance in Hastings tonight.”
Sunny Hwang, Vice President & Head of Global Sports Marketing, Samsung Electronics, said: "Samsung is delighted to be a Presenting Partner of the Olympic Torch Relay and we feel the Torchbearers selected really do demonstrate the ‘gone the extra mile’ community element that lies at the heart of our London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay campaign."
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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
