Joy as Olympic Flame comes to West Berkshire

Thousands of local people are expected to share in the excitement of welcoming the Olympic Flame to West Berkshire

FOLLOWING this morning's (Monday's) announcement that the Olympic Flame will be coming to Newbury Thatcham and Theale, West Berkshire Council has said it is thrilled by the news.

According to West Berkshire councillor Carol Jackson-Doerge (Con, Burghfield), who is responsible for 'West Berkshire Enjoy!' - a programme of cultural and sporting activities and events for 2012 – the arrival of the Olympic Flame in West Berkshire will provide an opportunity for local people to share in the Olympic spirit.

It will form part of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Route, with the flame set to be carried through West Berkshire on Wednesday, July 11, 2012.

Mrs Jackson-Doerge said: “We are delighted by this news.

“This will provide an opportunity for community celebrations and for local people to really share in the Olympic spirit and mark the countdown to the start of the Games and ‘Enjoy' a year of celebration.”

The chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), Sebastian Coe, said the committee was thrilled to confirm Theale, Thatcham and Newbury as three of more than 1,000 villages, towns and cities on the route.

He said: “This is the UK's moment to shine and I want to encourage people across West Berkshire 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.”

The 70-day Olympic Torch Relay will start at Land's End in Cornwall on May 19, before travelling an estimated 8,000 miles around the UK, prior to the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games in London on July 27.

Final Torchbearer places will start to be confirmed from February 2012 onwards, with each set to have a story of personal achievement and or contribution to the local community.

Meanwhile, LOCOG has today launched 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, while the ‘Get Set for the Olympic Torch Relay' education resource is being made 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 three to 16-year-olds to aid learning around the history of Olympic Torch Relays, the design of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay and the Torch itself.

In addition, official education partner of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, Lloyds TSB, have launched their Flame Followers schools programme which compliments the Get Set resources and gives schools the opportunities to be at the heart of the excitement and celebrations of the Relay.

*For a map of the Relay Route, click on the first link below.

For more information on the Local Leaders programme, click on the second link below.