The exact streets which the Olympic Flame will travel through in Gwynedd have been officially announced.
The flame will arrive in Gwynedd on Monday, 28 May arriving in Dolgellau at 10:45am. It will then travel through the streets of Llan Ffestiniog, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Porthmadog, Criccieth, Pwllheli, Bontnewydd, Caernarfon, Y Felinheli and Bangor. On Tuesday, 29 May 2012 it will move on to visit Snowdon and ascend to the highest point of its entire journey through the UK as it makes its way up the 1,085 metres to the mountain’s summit.
Town councils and community groups throughout Gwynedd are busy finalising their plans to welcome the Olympic torch to their area, and further details about these events will be available over the coming weeks. The streets where the flame will pass through can be viewed in full at www.london2012.com/olympictorchrelay, which gives street-by-street details and proposed start times for the Olympic flame’s journey.
Iwan Trefor Jones, Gwynedd Council’s Corporate Director who chairs the Gwynedd Events Group said:
“The two day trek will be a fantastic opportunity to showcase the many and varied attractions of the great Gwynedd outdoors. The flame will travel along our breathtaking coastline and through the mountains of Snowdonia, to the site of the proposed £8.3 million Sailing Academy and Events Centre in Pwllheli, before moving on to the world heritage site of Caernarfon and the city of Bangor.
“These are exciting times for Gwynedd, and we hope that the visit of the Olympic torch will be a real inspiration to our young people and help them see that they can realise their dreams.”
Sebastian Coe, Chair of LOCOG (the London Organising Committee of the Olympics and Paralympic Games), added:
“Today we bring the Olympic Torch Relay to life. The Flame symbolises the Olympic spirit and its journey around the UK will bring the excitement of the Games to our streets. Now the people know the route the Olympic Flame will be carried along and the Torchbearers for their community, they can start planning how they might celebrate and make it Gwynedd’s moment to shine.”
The Torchbearers confirmed to carry the Flame include those who were successful through the public nomination processes run by LOCOG and the presenting partners, Coca Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung. LOCOG has endeavoured to slot all community Torchbearers within an hour of their nomination address so family and friends can cheer them on. Each Torchbearer will wear a white and gold uniform which been designed by adidas.
Gwynedd Council is currently working with 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 when it arrives in Bangor on 28 May. Bangor is one of four Welsh locations that will stage an evening event to welcome the Olympic flame – with Gwynedd’s event to be staged at the Vaynol Estate. Details of the celebration event will be released in the near future.
Schools across the UK can now access free learning resources linked to the Olympic Torch Relay through Get Set (london2012.com/getset), the official London 2012 education programme. The activities are designed to help schools and colleges make the most of the Relay by lining the route, and cheering on their local Torchbearers. Resources include ideas for making Flame hats and shakers to welcome the Flame, an assembly presentation to get the school behind a Torchbearer and a film showing one Get Set network school’s preparations for the Relay.
