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Torch Relay
Last updated: 04 May 2012 14:47 UKThe Olympic Flame is coming to Portsmouth 15 & 16 July
The Olympic Flame will make its journey from Greece and arrive in the UK on 18 May 2012, ready for the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay to begin the following day. Representing peace, unity and friendship, the Flame will start its 70 day journey around the UK towards the Stadium carried by 8,000 inspirational Torchbearers.
On Sunday, 15 July 2012, the Flame will arrive in the city by water (from Gosport) at about 6pm, and will initially travel through Portsmouth Historic Dockyard; past the world-famous naval vessels HMS Warrior 1860 and HMS Victory.
From the Historic Dockyard, the Flame will travel along Queen Street and through Portsea - one of the oldest parts of Portsmouth - towards the city centre, past St John's Catholic Cathedral, along Edinburgh Road, and on to the bottom end of Commercial Road. The Flame then travels past Portsmouth and Southsea railway station, under the civic offices on to the city's Olympic Live Site (Big Screen) at Guildhall Square at about 6:30pm.
The Flame will then cross the square and travel along Guildhall Walk and onto to Winston Churchill Avenue. The Flame then travels along Landport Terrace, Hampshire Terrace and on to Duisburg Way, before it reaches Southsea Common and the FREE evening celebrations at about 6:50pm.
When the Flame arrives at Southsea Common, Portsmouth City Council is working with the London Organising Committee of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the three Presenting Partners of the Relay – Coca Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung – to host an evening celebration to celebrate the Olympic Flame. The event will be free access and will feature locally programmed content. Details of the run of show will be released in the coming months, but the evening's entertainment is due to start at 5pm.
Early on Monday, 16 July, the city will be giving the Flame a proper Pompey send-off, with a brilliant event just for local schoolchildren at the home of Portsmouth Football Club, Fratton Park. From here, the Flame will travel past the Pompey Centre and along Goldsmith Avenue (about 7:30am) towards Fratton. The Flame will then start the final leg of its journey as it travels along Fratton Road, Kingston Road and then left on to Kingston Crescent (7:40 - 8am). From here it will be transported by vehicle out of the city via the M275 on its journey to Petersfield.
You can see a map of the route by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.
The Olympic Torch Relay will shine a spotlight on the people and places of Portsmouth and demonstrate that the Olympic spirit is alive and well.
Evening celebration
Portsmouth has also been chosen as one of sixty six places invited to hold an evening celebration, giving the opportunity for thousands of local people to share in the spectacle of the Olympics.
The evening celebration is a free two-hour event taking place on Southsea Common on 15 July from 5pm. It will showcase local talent alongside entertainment organised by London 2012 Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), and the three Presenting Partners of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay - Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung - with support from Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth City Council will present two, ten-minute slots of entertainment from local performers during the evening celebration. This will include a specially choreographed dance piece by Hampshire Dance performed in the Torchbearer Corridor leading up onto the stage. The New Theatre Royal Little Actors and Youth Theatre will also be performing a bespoke a Dickensian piece. Finally a Portsmouth Music Service choir of 30 school children from across the city will bring the evening to a close by performing three songs from the Singathlon songbook, which is part of the London 2012 Inspire Mark programme.
The three Presenting Partners will also each provide 20 minutes of exciting entertainment for the event. This will include a performance by the Rizzle Kicks courtesy of Presenting Partner Coca-Cola. Lloyds TSB will be bringing stunning acrobatic performances to the site and Samsung staging dance performances.
Prior to and during the show, the audience will have the opportunity participate in a number of activities courtesy of Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung. These include having your photograph taken with the London 2012 Torch and other Olympic-related activities.
Towards the end of the two-hour show, the last Torchbearer of the day in Portsmouth will light a celebration cauldron on stage at the event which will enable the Olympic Flame to be seen by the audience.
Paralympic Torch Relay
The London 2012 Paralympic Torch Relay will take place from 24-28 August 2012. The Paralympic Flame will be lit in London on 24 August 2012. The UK's other three capital cities – Greater Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh – will then light a flame on each of the following days, at special Flame Lighting events.
The four flames will then be taken to Stoke Mandeville, home of the Paralympic Movement where they will be combined at a special celebration on 28 August 2012 to create the London 2012 Paralympic Flame.
Later that evening, there will be a 24-hour Torch Relay from Stoke Mandeville. Torchbearers working in teams of five will carry the Paralympic Flame to the Olympic Stadium to light the Cauldron at the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
In addition to the Flame Lighting events, a number of Flame Festivals are being planned across the UK. Here in Portsmouth we are planning to celebrate the Paralympic Torch Relay at the Live Site in Guildhall Square on 24 August. Further details will be announced in the coming weeks.
