Olympic torch to visit Inverness on pre-Games tour

also - Nominations for torch bearers wanted (see end of article)
Highland News: 19/05/11 By Claire Doughty

INVERNESS will be one of five Scottish cities to be visited by the Olympic torch as it tours the UK ahead of the 2012 Games in London.

The first 74 locations on the torch relay route which will also include three Scottish islands were announced today.

Evening celebrations marking the flame’s arrival will take place in the Highland capital.

The Olympic flame is due to arrive in the UK from Greece in exactly a year’s time.

A search has also been launched for 8,000 inspirational people to carry the torch.

The torch relay will begin at Land’s End on May 19 2012 and end in the Olympic Stadium, London, on July 27.

It is expected to travel an estimated 8,000 miles around the UK and once the detailed route is revealed later this year it is thought that 95 per cent of the population will be within a one hour journey time of the torch relay.

The Scottish leg of the relay will begin in Glasgow on June 8. From there the flame will be carried to Inverness (June 9th) , Shetland, Orkney and the Isle of Lewis and will return to the mainland, visiting Aberdeen, Dundee and finally Edinburgh on June 13.

Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), said: "The Olympic Flame will shine a light right across every nation and region of the UK and showcase the very best of who we are and where we live.

"The first locations on the route confirmed today give a flavour of the reach the Olympic Torch Relay will have around the UK and how extensive the opportunity for starting to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic Games will be."

First Minister Alex Salmond said: "The Scottish leg of the Olympic Torch relay will highlight the best of our country - our iconic landscapes, vibrant culture and, most of all, our warm and welcoming people – to the rest of the world. It is an exciting milestone on the road to London 2012 and beyond to our own Commonwealth Games being held in Glasgow in 2014.

"As well as inspiring Scots to get more active and live healthier lifestyles, it is an ideal opportunity to get involved in your community and I would urge everyone across Scotland to nominate potential torchbearers and become part of this special event."

To nominate a torchbearer go to www.london2012.com/olympictorchrelay. The deadline for making nominations is 11.59pm on Wednesday June 29 2011.

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