• Bernie Sloan and Pat Shields, along with a group of Scouts, will climb mountain on foot
• Flame will be created by scouts at the summit
• Northern Irish Flame is one of four Flames being created across the UK
• Images will be available here
At the mountain peak, they will use a ferrocerium rod and strike it against a rough steel surface to create the sparks that will create the Flame. The Flame will then be placed in a miner’s lantern and brought back down on foot. It will then be transferred to Belfast for a day of Paralympic celebration on Saturday 25th August.
Sebastian Coe, Chair of LOCOG, said: “The combination of teamwork and human endeavour being used to create the Northern Irish Flame is a very fitting start to the Paralympic Torch Relay celebrations. This group of inspirational individuals will be lighting the way to a fantastic ten days of sport.”
The climb is expected to take in the region of four hours and will be led by local mountain guides. The four Scouts selected to take part in the Flame creation are Daniel O’Mahony, 16 years old, Rachel Nicholson, 15 years old, Matthew Dorrian, 13 years old and Josh Morrison, 13 years old. They were all chosen from communities local to Slieve Donard.
Rachel Nicholson said “I am really excited about taking part in the Paralympic Flame creation. It’s a fantastic opportunity and such an honour to be involved. The Paralympics are an inspiration to everyone and I wish all the competitors good luck with their games.”
The group will also include Bernie Sloan, from Warrenpoint and Pat Shields from Newry who are part of a group of 15 blind and partially sighted people training to climb Ben Nevis. Both of them were nominated by the Royal National Institute of Blind People Northern Ireland.
Bernie lost her sight in her early twenties but has always had active lifestyle. She loves the outdoor life and will grasp every opportunity to be involved which includes archery, tandem gliding and mountain climbing. She loves to write short stories and articles for the local health trust newsletter and local magazines. Her latest piece of literary inspiration is entitled 'Climb every Mountain'.
Bernie Sloan, said “I feel so lucky to be included in this once in a lifetime opportunity. Climbing Slieve Donard will be a challenge but I can’t wait to get to the top for what will be a historic occasion.”
Pat is registered as partially sighted as he has Age Related Macular Degeneration. He worked as a nurse before he trained for professional social work where he worked with disabled persons in the Disability Directorate of the Southern HSS Trust in Northern Ireland. Following retirement he took up hill walking through the RNIB which has facilitated him to engage in activities that promote a healthy lifestyle.
Slieve Donard is the highest mountain in Northern Ireland at an altitude of 850 metres above sea level and is located in County Down. Across the United Kingdom, three other National Flames are to be created on Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa (Wales), Ben Nevis (Scotland) and Scafell Pike (England).
The four individual Flames will then be transferred to the nations’ capital cities where they will each become the focus for a day of Paralympic celebrations. The Northern Irish Flame will light a ceremonial cauldron at Stormont on the morning of Saturday 25 August. Followed by various community visits and a Flame festival that evening outside City Hall.
For information about media accreditation to the various moments in Belfast, please click here.
From the Paralympic celebrations in London, Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the four National Flames will be taken to Stoke Mandeville, the spiritual home of the Paralympic movement, where they will be united during a special ceremony on Tuesday 28 August to create the London 2012 Paralympic Flame.
At the end of the ceremony, the 24-hour overnight relay route will see the Paralympic Flame carried 92 miles by 580 inspirational Torchbearers, working in teams of five, from Stoke Mandeville to the Olympic Stadium to officially open the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
For further information about the London 2012 Paralympic Torch Relay, please visit http://www.london2012.com/paralympics/torch-relay/
The London 2012 Paralympic Torch Relay is presented by BT, Lloyds TSB and Sainsbury’s.
Suzi Williams, Director, BT Group Marketing and Brand, said: "At BT we understand the power of Paralympic sport to inspire people, that's why we're bringing teams together to run with the Paralympic Torch. It’s fantastic that this group of people have the opportunity to work together to start the Flame’s journey - this is their moment to be at the heart of a once in a lifetime experience."
Sally Hancock, Director, London 2012 Partnership at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “We are looking forward to the National Flames being lit on Wednesday marking the beginning of the Paralympic Torch Relay. Lloyds TSB will be bringing the excitement of the Paralympic Games to Flame Festivals around the UK and communities along the 24 hour Paralympic Torch Relay route to London. We are immensely proud of our inspirational Torchbearers who will be running in teams of five celebrating their phenomenal achievements within the community. We are calling on everyone to come to the Flame Festivals to see their National Flame arrive in their capital and line the route to cheer on our Paralympic Torchbearers as they make their way to London in this unique relay."
Jat Sahota, Head of Sponsorship, Sainsbury’s commented: “As proud partners of the Paralympic Torch Relay and the Flame Festivals, we have already taken the Torch into Sainsbury’s stores right across the country. We now look forward to sharing this once in a lifetime experience with our Sainsbury’s customers, colleagues and Torchbearers as the National Flames begin their journey to the Olympic Stadium”
-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:
Broadcast footage of the Flame Lightings on each of the mountains will be made available on the evening of 22 August 2012. From 24 August, 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 Paralympic 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 IPC is acquired.
About the Scouts
The Scout Association provides adventurous activities and personal development opportunities for 400,000 young people aged 6-25. Internationally, the Scouts have over 28 million young people enjoying the benefits of Scouting across 216 countries.
Personal development means promoting the physical, intellectual, social and spiritual well-being of the individual, helping them achieve their full potential. In Scouting, we believe that young people develop most when they are 'learning by doing,' when they are given responsibility, work in teams, take acceptable risks and think for themselves.
For further information about the Scouts involved in this event, please contact either Chris Foster on 07889 804726 or Andrew Thorp on 07957 793707.
About the London 2012 Paralympic Torch Relay Presenting Partners:
BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services, operating in more than 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to our customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.
BT is the official communications services partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and a Presenting Partner of the London 2012 Paralympic Torch Relay.
In the year ended 31 March 2011, BT Group’s revenue was £20,076 million with profit before taxation of £1,717 million.
British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York. For more information, visit www.bt.com/aboutbt
All news releases can be accessed at our web site: http://www.bt.com/newscentre
Lloyds TSB is the exclusive Banking & Insurance Partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and partner of the London 2012 ticketing programme and the Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays. The Bank is committed to inspire and support young people, businesses and communities across Britain in the lead up to London 2012.
As a National Presenting Partner for the London 2012 Paralympic Torch Relay, Lloyds TSB will be taking the spirit and inspiration of the Paralympic 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. Be the first to hear how to follow the Paralympic and Olympic Flames, through our customer-exclusive programme Trackside. For more information on how Lloyds TSB is helping take the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to all corners of Britain, visit: www.lloydstsb.com/london2012
Sainsbury’s is proud to be a Presenting Partner of the London 2012 Paralympic Torch Relay. Sainsbury’s is committed to promoting a healthier, more active lifestyle for all, regardless of ability, and supporting the values of courage, determination, inspiration and equality on which the Paralympic Movement was founded.
Sainsbury’s will be using its partnership of the London 2012 Paralympic Torch Relay to engage and celebrate those who make a lasting difference in attitudes towards disability in the UK and create opportunities for change in disabled people’s lives.
Sainsbury's is the first ever Paralympic Games-only sponsor and this landmark commitment to the Paralympic Movement is the largest sponsorship ever of a Paralympic Games.
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://www.london2012.com/blog or follow us on Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/london2012
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, 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.
There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games-only Partner, Sainsbury’s and one domestic Tier Three Paralympic Games-only Supplier, Otto Bock. The London 2012 Paralympic Games also acknowledges the support of the National Lottery
