Today’s mileage: 32.37
Number of Torchbearers: 163
Highlights for today are:
TIME TBC – EDF Energy London Eye: Amelia Hempleman-Adams, 17, from Surrey, who at the age of 16 became the youngest person to ski to the South Pole will hold the Flame on top of a capsule on the London Eye.
London Borough of Redbridge
7.19am – Redbridge Cycling Centre: The first Torchbearer of the day Luke Benjafield, 20, from South Woodford will carry the Flame at the centre through a corridor of cyclists from local clubs. Luke was nominated through the LOCOG campaign for his dedication to the Air Training Corps 241 Squadron where he has inspired and motivated many cadets to succeed in their flight training.
The centre is already enjoying a London 2012 Games legacy in the form of this brand new £4.5 million state of the art cycling centre built by the London Development Agency. The Cycling Centre is also used as a Games-time training venue.
7.42am – Fairlop Lake sailing boat: A Torchbearer will carry the Flame across Fairlop Lake in a boat accompanied by London Youth Games sailors. A large Tai Chi display will be performed in the background, incorporating views of the Monolithic Stone sculpture. The Torch Bearer will run to jetty where Scouts will form a guard of honour.
8.41am – Valentines Mansion: David Backhouse, 66, from Ilford will carry the Flame into the grounds of the mansion and will pause in front of the entrance to the building for a photo opportunity. David was nominated through the LOCOG campaign for his work as a Governor of Mayfield School over the last twenty four years. David is also a volunteer for Barnardo’s.
9.26am – Redbridge Town Hall: Luke Williams, 46, from Wanstead will carry the Flame to in front of the Town Hall where he will hand it on to Elise Cobain, 25, from Redbridge.
Luke was nominated through the Lloyds TSB campaign for his dedication to Central Foundation Girls' School. As Head of Media he inspires and motivates success in his students through an innovative programme of shows, exhibitions and awards often involving the local community.
Elise was nominated through the LOCOG campaign for her work with Roundhouse - a charity designed to provide creative and vocational opportunities to young people. She has volunteered in a range of capacities and ensures that young people are represented and have a voice at all levels of the organisation. She has achieved this through her work on Roundhouse Radio, her presence on the Youth Advisory Board and as a member of the Board of Trustees.
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
9.57am – Barking Park, Miniature Railway: Paul Freedman, 87, from Hornchurch who was nominated through the LOCOG campaign will carry the Flame on the light rail in honour of his extensive charity fundraising for which he received an MBE in 2006.
10.30am – Mayesbrook Park Training Centre: A Torchbearer will carry the Flame around the track of this Games-time Training Venue for Track and Field throwing disciplines.
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11.45am – Dagenham Town Show, Central Park: Members of local street dance troupe Diversity who have helped inspire a generation to get moving since winning the third series of Britain’s Got Talent, will carry the Flame onto the stage.
London Borough of Havering
1.37pm – Romford Market Place: Aimee Sell, 17, from Hornchurch will carry the Flame for a lap around the Market Place. She will hand the Flame on to Caitlin Hewson, 12, from Aveley by the large Union Jack flag. Caitlin will then hand the Flame to on Mo Morris, 57 from Leytonstone who will carry the Flame out of the Market Place and through the shopping area.
Aimee was nominated through the LOCOG campaign for her dedication to her sport of karate despite losing her sight at 8 years of age. Aimee was graded 1st Dan Black belt at 12 years of age and is now one of the most prolific Karate competitors. Aimee became the 1st English female to reach a European Kata final for England in over 25 years and only the second ever female to do so since the mid 80`s. Her devotion and commitment for the sport is truly inspirational proving that anyone with desire, drive and dedication can overcome any obstacle to achieve their dream.
Caitlin was nominated through the Get Set Schools Programme and is an excellent sportswoman who has been selected for the U13 Essex Cricket squad. She has had to persevere and overcome some difficulties owing to severe allergies and intolerances.
Mo is a Judo Olympian who competed in Montreal 1976. These days Mo runs a community Soccer Academy in East London and coaches over 160 children a week between the ages of 7-18. He has worked tirelessly over the last 15 years creating a network of football coaches, turning around the lives of young people, many of whom would have few chances in life if not for his intervention.
2.22pm – Queen's Theatre: celebrated concert pianist Lang Lang, 30, will carry the Flame on to the stage at the Queen’s Theatre. Lang has performed with leading orchestras in Europe, the United States and his native China. Lang has done much to encourage children and young musicians to take an interest in classical music, especially through the international foundation he launched in New York in 2008.
3.29pm – Aaron Reynolds, 18, from Sidcup will carry the Flame across the River Thames in a London Fire Brigade Fireboat accompanied by a flotilla of smaller craft. Nominated by Bexley Council Aaron was presented with the prestigious Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Thames Valley Young Sailor of the Year Award in recognition his outstanding contribution to the sport of sailing. He has been sailing since he was 4 years old and is a member of Erith Yacht Club. He races on the 29er circuit all over the country and has both a powerboat instructors and advanced dingy instructors certificates. He is a very active volunteer instructor who is always enthusiastic to introduce new people to the sport, providing confidence and reassurance to young people learning to sail.
London Borough of Bexley
6.00pm – Hall Place: Christine Gosden, 38, from Sidcup will carry the Flame for a photo opportunity outside the Great Hall in recognition of her volunteering for Girlguiding UK. Christine is an inspiration to the young people in her community and encourages them to aim high and achieve their potential.
6.50pm – Danson Park: Final Torchbearer of the day Lennox Lewis will carry the Olympic Flame on to the stage to light the celebration cauldron. Lennox was born in Stratford, trained in Bexley and went on to become world heavyweight boxing champion, the first Englishman to achieve that since Bob Fitzsimmons in 1897.
Evening celebration summary:
The evening celebration hosted by the London Borough of Bexley will take place at Danson Park. All tickets have been allocated.
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.
Lloyds TSB will bring stunning acrobatic performances, Samsung will stage vibrant and engaging dance performances from Twist and Pulse while Coca-Cola's entertainment will be provided by the Brit Award nominated Rizzle Kicks.
There will also be a local acts on stage, with rising stars from BexFactor - the borough's music development project - who have written and arranged a special piece of celebratory music called 'Life's what you make it'. In addition, adult and youth community choirs have worked together through the 'Sing Up Bexley' project and will close the celebration.
Towards the end of the two-hour show, the last Torchbearer of the day – Lennox Lewis - will light a celebration cauldron on stage at the event which will enable the Olympic Flame to be seen by the audience.
Torchbearer highlights:
Ben Hunt-Davies will carry the Flame in Havering. Ben has dedicated his life to the Olympic Movement. After competing in 3 Olympic Games, and winning a Rowing Gold Olympic medal in the Sydney 2000 Games, Ben went on to volunteer at the Beijing Games. In addition to all this Ben has also given up his free time to volunteer and inspire young people by being an ambassador to the London 2012 bid, to the Amateur Rowing Association, to Project Oarsome and to the Sport Makers programme.
Len Arnold will carry the Flame in Bexley. 18 years ago Len, and his wife Yvonne, set up their gymnastics club in an old industrial building. It was a disused bare shell with no lighting or heating, but they transformed it, carving out gymnastic landing pits from the concrete floor and installing a sprung competition floor.
When the club faced a financial crisis three years ago, because the rent of the building escalated, they never considered closing , instead they sold their home and moved into the gym to keep the club going. The complex has now 700 members. The new 'Europa' gym is now being built. But without Len and Yvonne's determination, thousands of kids would have missed out on gymnastics. They are truly inspirational and and have put their entire lives into keeping the club going they are loved and respected in equal part and are true sports heros. Set up club 19 yrs ago not 18 Sold house 10 yrs ago not 3 700 gymnasts but other sports and activities (boxing, weightlifting, akido, wrestling, self defence and dance classes) attract 1500 kids. 'New' complex has attracted ODA and Lotto Funding
Dilip Roy, 70, from Newham will carry the Flame in Barking and Dagenham. Dilip was nominated through the Lloyds TSB public nomination campaign for his fundraising efforts that paid to build a permanent temple in the Olympic borough of Tower Hamlets. The temple will be first of its type for Bengali Hindu's in the UK and will allow the group to continue their tradition of festivals, which attract people from all over Britain.
James Xu, 24, is set to carry the Flame in Bexley. Selected through Samsung programme, James was the winner of British Council’s ‘UK International Student of the Year 2011’ and Vinspired’s ‘London Spirit Award’ for his commitment to encouraging others to volunteer.
Norman French, 74, from Brentwood will carry the Flame in Havering. Nominated through the LOCOG campaign for founding Romford-based Byron Red Star FC in 1968 and winning the BBC London Unsung Hero sport award in 2011 for his dedication to football in the capital.
Wendell Raphael, 40, from Streatham will carry the Flame in Havering. Wendell - aka Raph ‘Minus 1 Kidney’ was nominated to be a Torchbearer by ACLT (African-Caribbean Leukemia Trust) due to his passion as a kidney donor who shares his lifesaving message to raise public awareness and confidence about organ, blood and bone marrow donation.
Joseph Kelly, 14, from Greenwich will carry the Flame in Barking and Dagenham. Joseph was selected through the Coca-Cola Future Flames programme, despite being diagnosed with a brain tumour at just 13 years old, Joseph remains incredibly brave and positive. Before falling ill, Joseph enjoyed playing all types of sport, with his favourite being football. Unfortunately he was forced to stop his sporting activities to undergo treatment, however during his recovery he found joy in a new kind of sport for him – golf and now plays as much as his illness will allow. Joseph dreams of becoming a pro golfer in the future and would like to inspire others with his story.
