•    The London Borough of Walford, the home of EastEnders, is revealed as a location on the Olympic Torch Relay route
•    The famous London community will host the Olympic Flame on 23 July 2012
•    The arrival of the Olympic Flame in iconic Albert Square will be broadcast live on BBC One on 23 July 2012

The home of EastEnders will join London communities in hosting the Olympic Flame in 2012. The Olympic Torch Relay route will travel through Albert Square on 23 July 2012 passing iconic landmarks such as the market, the launderette and The Queen Vic as it makes its way through London to the Olympic Stadium for the Opening Ceremony on 27 July.

EastEnders viewers will already have seen characters Fat Boy and Billy Mitchell discover they’ve been nominated as Torchbearers. In tonight’s (15.11.2011) episode transmitting on BBC ONE, 7.30pm regulars in The Queen Vic will find out that the Olympic Flame will be passing through Walford and Billy will discover he’s the chosen one on screen in December.

On 23 July 2012, EastEnders will feature live footage of Billy carrying the Olympic Flame while being cheered on by the famous residents of Albert Square. Although the episode will be largely filmed in advance several minutes of the Olympic procession will be beamed direct to TV screens around the UK live, from the Elstree set.

Last week LOCOG announced 1,018 communities that the Olympic Flame will be passing through carried by Torchbearers during the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay.

As well as over 1000 villages, town and cities, the Olympic Torch Relay will also take in hundreds of landmarks; from the famous to the unexpected; natural to the man-made; historical to the modern and will showcase and celebrate the diversity of the UK. By visiting different communities the Olympic Flame will connect people to the Olympic Games, its values and its spirit.

Sebastian Coe, Chair of LOCOG, said: ‘Today’s announcement is a great addition to the Olympic Torch Relay Route. I’m sure the people of Walford will now start planning their celebrations to welcome the Flame to Albert Square. Along with people right round the UK, the residents of Albert Square will be getting involved to make this their moment to shine.’

Perry Fenwick, who plays Billy Mitchell, added: ‘When we first discussed the storyline, my initial thought was that I’ll now have to get fit! While this may be a fictional one off for Billy Mitchell, it’s a real once in a lifetime opportunity for me and I am thrilled that Walford and Albert Square will be part of this amazing event’.

The 70 day Olympic Torch Relay, presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung, will start at Land’s End, Cornwall on the morning of 19 May 2012. On leaving Land’s End, the Olympic Flame will travel an estimated 8,000 miles around the UK giving thousands of communities and individuals their moment to shine as the Olympic Flame comes to a place near them.

The Olympic Flame will be carried across the UK by 8,000 inspirational Torchbearers each of whom will have a story of personal achievement and/or contribution to the local community. In December this year, successful nominees will be contacted with a conditional offer and final Torchbearer places will start to be confirmed from February 2012 onwards.

-  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
 
For further information about the Olympic Torch Relay go to www.london2012.com/olympictorchrelay

For further information on EastEnders contact EastEnders Press Office on 020 8228 8301.

Notes to editors

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. Next 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 spirit and inspiration 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 will bring the Relay closer to our customers through our branches on practically every high street and our activities in the community, National School Sport Week and Local Heroes.  Customers can be the first to hear about exclusive offers, including how they can have the chance to carry the Olympic Flame, through our customer-exclusive programme, Trackside. Find out more at www.lloydstsb.com/london2012 

Schools can be right at the heart of the celebrations through our Flame Followers programme, giving them access to free resources to get their pupils inspired and excited about the Olympic Torch Relay, and the chance for their school to carry the Olympic Flame, win a celebration party at their school during the Relay and win a Cheer Kit to welcome the Relay to their community.  

As part of its support for the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, Samsung is providing a number of the Olympic Torchbearers through its public nomination process. These ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunities to carry the Olympic Flame on its journey around the UK, represents one of the many ways that Samsung is enabling people from all corners of the world to be part of the greatest show on Earth.  Becoming an Olympic Torchbearer thanks to Samsung means everyone can become a part of the Olympic history. From June 13th 2011, Samsung has invited the world to recognise its unsung heroes. Samsung’s nomination programme for Olympic Torchbearers is a worldwide search for these unique and selfless individuals. The campaign has been communicated globally via a number of marketing channels to ensure that the maximum number of people become aware of the opportunity.  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 the Samsung nomination 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.  

As it heads towards its £2bn budget for staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games, 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.

There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games-only Partner, Sainsbury’s and one domestic Tier Three Paralympic Games-only Supplier, Otto Bock.

The Worldwide Olympic Partners signed up for London 2012 are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.