THANET TO HOST THE LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY ROUT

Thanet District Council is pleased to announce that Thanet is to host the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay on 19 July 2012. A total of ten Thanet communities are on the Relay route on this momentous day, which is more than any other host borough or district in Kent. Thanet District Council will be working closely with Parish and Town Councils to animate the route and extend invitations to communities to welcome the Olympic Flame.

The ten communities on the route that the Olympic Flame will take through Thanet will be:

• Great Stonar
• Cliffs End
• St. Lawrence
• Ramsgate
• Broadstairs
• St. Peters
• Cliftonville
• Margate
• Westgate-on-Sea
• Birchington

People from surrounding communities are welcome to come along to the host communities on the day to greet the Olympic Flame, share in the excitement that the Relay will bring and celebrate the achievements of the Torchbearers.

The Thanet communities are ten of over 1,000 villages, towns and cities announced by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) through which the Olympic Flame will be carried by Torchbearers during the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay which is presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung.  LOCOG has worked closely with representatives from a number of sectors in Thanet to devise the route.

Leader of the Council, Cllr. Bob Bayford, said: “I am thrilled that Thanet will be playing host to the Olympic Flame and that so many of our communities have been included on the Torch Relay. This truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity for all of Thanet to join together to welcome the Olympic Flame and witness the spectacle of the Olympic Torch Relay. This will shine a global light on the Thanet communities hosting the Relay and I hope that this will encourage celebrations where people can share in the Olympic Spirit on the countdown to the Games and support members of the community who have been chosen to run with the Olympic Flame.”

Sebastian Coe, Chair of LOCOG said: “We are thrilled to confirm that Thanet communities will act as host locations for the Olympic Flame, extending an invitation to people in Thanet to welcome the Olympic Torch Relay during its journey around the UK.  This is the UK’s moment to shine and I want to encourage people across Thanet to start planning how they can be part of this once in a lifetime opportunity and show their support for the inspirational Torchbearers chosen to carry the Olympic Flame as we count down to the start of the Olympic Games.”

Richard Morsley, Deputy Director, Turner Contemporary said: "It is fantastic news that the Olympic Torch will be coming to Margate and that Turner Contemporary has been selected as a key landmark on the Torch Relay route. It is yet another demonstration that the opening of the gallery has placed Margate firmly back on the national agenda. After an amazing 2011, next year promises to be even more exciting for Turner Contemporary and for Margate."

The 70 day Olympic Torch Relay, 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.

In announcing the villages, towns and cities LOCOG has realised the aspiration of taking the Olympic Flame to within an hour’s journey time of 95% of the population. In fact, over 95% of the population will be within just 10 miles of the Olympic Flame next summer. The street by street detail of the route will be confirmed next year.

People are invited to view the interactive map at www.london2012.com/olympictorchrelaymap to find their nearest community through which the Olympic Flame will be carried.

On the final day of the Olympic Torch Relay, it is LOCOG’s intention that the Olympic Flame will travel down the River Thames as it makes its way to the Olympic Stadium on 27 July 2012 for the lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony, signifying the official start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

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.

Today LOCOG launches two new public participation programmes. The ‘Local Leaders’ initiative is an invitation to people to take the 2012 Games into their community and create their own celebrations next year, for the Olympic Torch Relay and other key moments during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. People are encouraged to sign up to the Local Leader programme atwww.london2012.com/localleaders to receive further information on a range of themed celebration ideas focusing on the Opening Ceremony evening, gardening, quizzes and barbecues and be in the front row to receive free London 2012 event materials to support events.

Also launched today (Monday 7 November) is the ‘Get Set for the Olympic Torch Relay’ education resource, available to all schools registered with Get Set, London 2012’s official education programme. The aim of the resource is to provide schools with cross-curricular resources aimed at teachers working with 3 to 16 year olds to aid learning around history of Olympic Torch Relays, the design of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay and the Torch itself. A further education resource will launch next year to encourage schools to plan a welcome for the Olympic Flame and show support for the Torchbearers.   Lloyds TSB, official Education Partner of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, have launched their Flame Followers schools programme which compliments the Get Set resources, and gives schools once-in-a-lifetime opportunities be right at the heart of the excitement and celebrations of the Relay.