Red Arrows to top off London’s Olympic Handover celebrations

A crowd of 40,000 who are expected to gather in the Mall for the Visa London 2012 Party as well as millions more watching at home live on BBC1 or via the network of giant screens across the country will witness the unmistakable formation of the nine Red Arrow Hawk jets as they entertain crowds 1500ft above the ground racing as fast as 800 mph across the capital.

The Visa London 2012 Party hosted by Claudia Winkleman and Matt Baker will include performances by multi-million album selling artists including The Feeling, Il Divo, Katherine Jenkins, McFly, Will Young, James Morrison, Scouting for Girls, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Heather Small, and the cast of We Will Rock You. Olympians including Dame Mary Peters, Roger Black, Sally Gunnell, Jason Gardener, and Sharron Davies will also be in attendance.

This is not the first time the Red Arrows have been involved in celebrations around the Olympic Games; they also staged a fly past over Trafalgar Square when London won the Olympic bid in 2005. The acrobatic display team, the public face of the Royal Air Force, is renowned across the world for its spectacular displays. Since forming they have visited 53 countries and taken part in 4,000 shows.

Olympics Minister, Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP commented: 'I am absolutely delighted that the Red Arrows will be part of the UK-wide celebrations to mark the moment when London becomes the official Summer Olympic Host City. It will be a truly historic moment and a fly past by the Red Arrows will round off what we hope will be a fantastic day on the Mall and an exciting weekend of celebrations across the whole country. We have always hoped that the Red Arrows will play a part in the London 2012 celebrations and what better way to start our four year journey to the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games than with one of their unique air displays.'

London 2012 Chair Sebastian Coe commented: 'In the same way the Red Arrows captured the mood of the nation when London won the Olympic bid on 6th July 2005, when they flew over Travalgar Square, I have no doubt they will do so once again on August 24th, a remarkable day in the UK’s history. It is about marking a moment in time, a moment when the eyes of the world will turn towards London when the Beijing Olympic Games close and the focus turns to the next Olympic Games Summer Host City. I hope the atmosphere on the Mall and across the entire UK will be electric – it is a very proud moment for us. We want people to be inspired and enthused by this unique occasion, and to share in the magic of the Games coming to London 2012.'
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Red 1, Wing Commander Jas Hawker, commented: 'As the Commanding Officer of the Red Arrows I am extremely proud that the Team has been given the opportunity to fly over London as part of the Olympic Games Handover Ceremony.

'The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will truly be a memorable event for everybody in this country, showcasing the UK to millions of people all over the world. The Red Arrows represent both the excellence of the Royal Air Force and the best of British. It's a great honour to be involved and something that both myself and my fellow team members feel absolutely privileged to play a part in.'

Featuring unique collaborations and specially-arranged performances, some with a sporting theme, the show from the Mall will link up with the Beijing 2008 Olympic Closing Ceremony at which London Mayor Boris Johnson will be symbolically handed the Olympic Games flag, officially marking the start of London’s tenure as Summer Olympic Host City in front of a worldwide audience estimated to be around 1.5 billion.

The show is for ticket holders only and all the tickets have already been allocated. People all across the country will be able to watch the spectacular show via the UK’s largest-ever network of public giant screens, known as ‘Live Sreens’*. These sites will become the hub of activity for communities centred around the Handover moment – be it sport, music or dance and will include a mass sing-a-long as part of the 'Sing The Nation' programme.
The Beijing Games will be the first ever 24/7 Games. BBC Television will broadcast more than 2,750 hours of coverage, giving viewers access to live coverage, the latest news updates regardless of the time of day and where they are, through the BBC's extensive TV, radio, online, mobile and BBC iPlayer services.

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For further information please contact Sameena Rizwi, Dylan Watkins or Sharon Hardwick at freud communications on 0203 003 6352/ 0203 003 6328/ 0203 003 6304 or email on firstname.surname@freud.com

For further information please contact the London 2012 Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 100

For further information on the Red Arrows, please contact Emma Thomas, Public Relations Officer, the Red Arrows, on +44 (0)1522 733007 or 44 (0) 7768 555875

Notes to Editors:

Red Arrows

The Red Arrows promote the professional excellence of the Royal Air Force, assist in recruiting into the Royal Air Force, contribute to Defence Diplomacy, and support wider British interests through the promotion of British industry overseas.
Commanded by Wing Commander Jas Hawker, the Red Arrows consists of over 100 officers and airmen drawn from throughout the Royal Air Force. Officially formed on 1 March 1965, the Red Arrows are based at Royal Air Force Scampton in Lincolnshire.

All nine Red Arrows display pilots are fast jet pilots from front-line Royal Air Force squadrons. In 2008, the Team has pilots from all four front-line fast jet types; Jaguar GR3, Tornado GR4, Tornado F3 and Harrier GR9. To apply for selection to the Red Arrows, pilots must have amassed a minimum of 1,500 flying hours, one front-line tour and be assessed as above average in role.

Reds 1 to 5 form the front section known as ‘Enid’, and Reds 6 to 9 are known as ‘Gypo’. The Synchro Pair, Reds 6 and 7, perform the highly popular, dynamic manoeuvres during the second half of the display sequence. There is one other qualified Hawk pilot: Red 10, who flies a tenth Hawk aircraft to display venues ready for use in case one of the other nine becomes unserviceable. Red 10’s two primary roles on the ground at every display are acting as the Team’s Safety Officer, maintaining two-way radio contact with the Team Leader throughout the display and as Team Commentator.

Typically, more than 300 requests for Red Arrows’ displays are received annually but only about 75 can ever be fitted into the programme. The Team also complete many flypasts each year as they transit from display to display

London 2012 has always been keen to use the Red Arrows in their celebrations going forward, as they did when they won the bid on 6th July 2005.

Live Screens

The Live Screens will represent a major legacy from London 2012 with the fixed locations planning to operate not just for the four years up to 2012, but for many years afterwards. They will carry a range of local information, news, cultural, sporting, education and community events and content. Moving forward, the screens will also have interactive capabilities which will enable cities to link to each other.

Screen breakdown

Live site permanent screens are located in Manchester, Rotherham, Bradford, Derby, Swindon, Liverpool, Birmingham, Hull, Leeds, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Norwich, Middlesbrough, Swansea, Cardiff, Bristol, Cumbria and Waltham Forest. This project is a unique collaboration between LOCOG, its partners in the project the Olympic Lottery Distributor, Lloyds TSB, BT, the cities and the BBC. Live site screens will be used during the Games and for Handover.

Additional screens will be erected for the 2008 Games in Canary Wharf (London) and Leicester.

Further screens will also be operating for the handover day in Belfast, Glasgow, Notting Hill, Weymouth, Hackney, Greenwich, Coventry, Kettering, Southend-on-Sea, Herne Bay, Tower Hamlets and Great Yarmouth and other areas funded by local authorities and organisations.