London Olympic Flame Visit Robert Burns Museum

Day 21: Olympic Flame to Visit Robert Burns Museum and Hampden Park on Journey From Stranraer to Glasgow

On Friday 8 June, the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay – presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung – will travel 138.42 miles through 22 communities on its journey from Stranraer to Glasgow.

(PRWEB) June 08, 2012

On Friday 8 June, the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay – presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung – will travel 138.42 miles through 22 communities on its journey from Stranraer to Glasgow. 

• Today the Relay will travel 138.42 miles
• 128 inspirational Torchbearers will carry the Flame
• Images from today can be downloaded here

On Friday 8th June, the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay – presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung – will travel 128 miles through 22 communities on its journey from Stranraer to Glasgow.

128 inspirational Torchbearers will carry the Flame through the following communities: Stranraer, Cairnryan, Ballantrae, Girvan, Turnberry, Maidens, Kirkoswald, Maybole, Alloway, Ayr, Kilmarnock, Kilmaurs, Stewarton, Dunlop, Barrmill, Beith, Lochwinnoch, Kilmalcolm, Port Glasgow, Rutherglen, Giffnock and Glasgow.

Highlights for today are:

6.09am – The first Torchbearer in Scotland will be Ross Mcclelland, 21, from Ayr. He will start with the Flame in Castle Square, Stranraer. Ross serves in the British Army and returned from a seven month tour of duty earlier this year. Ross is an infantry soldier who loves every minute of his service. One of Ross' dreams has actually been to become a long-distance runner and compete in the Olympics.

9.41am – Robert Burns Birthplace Museum. Kirsty Kane, 17, from Saltcoats, will carry the Flame to the front of the museum. Kirsty was nominated through the Bank of Scotland campaign for her courage and determination in dealing with her cerebral palsy. Kirsty will hand the Flame to Olympian Suzanne Otterson, 38, from Ayr, who represented Great Britain in the figure skating at the Albertville Winter Olympics in 1992. She was nominated through the Coca Cola campaign.

At 4.27pm in Hampden Park, the Flame will be carried by Karen Woodrow, 44, from Renfrew, who was nominated through the Coca Cola campaign. She was nominated by her colleagues for her hard work and great spirit.

5.43pm - Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. The Flame will be carried to the front of the museum in a lantern by trials cyclist Daniel MacAskill, 26, from Glasgow.

6.50pm – The last Torchbearer of the day will be Ross Morrison, 18, from Auchinleck, who was nominated through the Coca Cola campaign. He was nominated because of his dream of becoming a professional basketball player and to set up a fund to help young people that are in a similar situation as him.

The evening celebration will take place in George Square, Glasgow and is presented by Coca Cola. The line-up includes music from Eliza Doolittle, Emeli Sande and General Fiasco. The show will start at 4pm.

Towards the end of the two-hour show, the last Torchbearer of the day in Glasgow - Ross Morrison - will light a celebration cauldron on stage at the event which will enable the Olympic Flame to be seen by the audience.

Other Torchbearer highlights:

Actor James McAvoy, 33, from Glasgow, will carry the Flame in Glasgow. He is best known for films such as X Men: First Class, Wanted, The Last King of Scotland and Atonement. He won the inaugural Orange BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2006, he has subsequently been nominated for BAFTA and Golden Globe Awards for his performance in Atonement. James recently finished filming on Filth, a film adaptation of Irvine Welsh's novel of the same name and he will shortly start filming on The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.

Olympian Katherine Grainger, 36, from Glasgow, will carry the Flame in Glasgow. She is three-time Olympic medallist and Bank of Scotland ambassador, selected because of her contribution to her sport and inspiring young people in the community to take up more sport as part of Bank of Scotland National School Sport Week.    

Olympian Rhona Martin, 45, from Ayr, will carry the Flame in Glasgow. Rhona skipped the British curling team to victory at the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games. It came down to the very last stone, which Rhona held her nerve and delivered perfectly to secure a narrow 4-3 win for Team GB. Rhona, her team of Scottish curlers and the aptly named “Stone of Destiny” went on to become sporting icons. This success was achieved despite the fact the team were all in full-time jobs or full-time mothers, only becoming full-time curlers for the four months leading up to the Games. Rhona is still involved with curling, predominantly as the Scottish junior curling coach where she can give back to the sport and use her experiences to inspire others. Rhona is also involved with UK Sport’s elite coaching programme, and worked as a commentator for the BBC during Vancouver 2010.

Olympian Susann Goksør Bjerkrheim, 60, from Oslo, will carry the Flame in Glasgow. She was selected through the Samsung campaign. Susann was one of the key players on the Norwegian women´s handball team from the late 80s until the millennium. She has played the most international games for Norway and has participated in several Olympics, winning the silver medal in Seoul 1998, silver in Barcelona 1992 and bronze in Sydney in 2000.

Ian Mirfin (53) and Janice Eaglesham (53), from Cambuslang, will both carry the Flame in Glasgow. The husband and wife team won the BBC Sports Unsung Hero award last year for their dedication to athletics coaching for people with disabilities. They are the founders, organisers and coaches of The Red Star Athletics Club in Glasgow which was formed in 1990.

Alan Jardine, 25, from Kilmarnock, will carry the Flame in Kilmarnock. He was selected through the LOCOG public nomination campaign. He has Down ’s syndrome but has accomplished much in his young life. He has won medals at the special Olympics for swimming and swims in the Down’s Syndrome British and European championships. He was awarded East Ayrshire Councils disabled sports person of the year in 2009 and loves travelling having visited France, Spain, Poland, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. At College he studied IT and Business and completed challenges with the Princes Trust. He is at present doing voluntary work with the WRVS at our local hospital. He is an inspiration to his family and friends.

James Sweeney, 21, from Glasgow, will carry the Flame in Glasgow. He was selected through the Coca-Cola Future Flames programme. He has been working with the G15 Youth Group since he was 17. The group gives support to young people aged 12-25 in the G15 postcode of Glasgow by providing one to one support to help them get their lives back on track. This is done through cooking classes, music groups, gardening projects and much more. They work alongside the police and local schools to maximise the benefit for the whole community. The youth group was recently awarded the Queens award for voluntary service and as a result were invited to the Queens Garden Party in July and Jamie now holds the Chairman position on the management committee. Jamie makes a real difference to these young and vulnerable people through his hard work and determination to better himself and those around him. Jamie is only 21 years old and fully understands how these young people feel as he had a difficult childhood himself. He now not only is supporting himself in his own flat, but is also helping to support his sister and her two young children.

Seb Coe, Chair of LOCOG said: “The Olympic Torch Relay signifies the start of an exciting summer of sport across the UK. The Relay will last for 70 days and the Flame will carry with it the values and spirit of the Olympic Games across the UK.
“We are looking forward to giving hundreds of inspirational people and many communities in Scotland their moment to shine.”

Sport Minister Shona Robison said: “The Torch Relay is a chance for communities to share in the Olympic spirit and support our torchbearers. From Cairnryan, round Scotland and back to Berwick, the route has been chosen to touch as many people as possible, take in our most iconic places and showcase the best of Scotland to an international audience.

“Scotland is already taking part in the Olympics, with eight world class football matches at Hampden and playing host to pre-Games training camps. With just 50 days to the Games, the Torch’s arrival is a prime opportunity to put Scotland on a world stage.”

James Williams, Director, Olympic Torch Relay, Coca-Cola Northwest Europe & Nordics, said: “We’re twenty-one days into our incredible journey and today two more Coca-Cola Future Flames will carry the Olympic Flame, with James Sweeney and Tim Mills running in Glasgow and Fort Augustus. We will also get everyone to Move to the Beat tonight as we bring Eliza Doolittle, Emeli Sandé and General Fiasco to the stage in Glasgow.”

Sally Hancock, Director, London 2012 Partnership at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “We’re thrilled Bank of Scotland is bringing the Olympic Torch Relay to Scotland. The last three weeks have been incredible, with each community coming out in force to cheer the Flame and feel the excitement of London 2012. Today, we’re calling on Scotland to welcome the Flame and support their local Bank of Scotland Torchbearers – extraordinary people like Kirsty Kane from Saltcoats and David Coulter from Kilmarnock, running in Alloway and Kilmarnock. Our troupe of performers, the Flame Followers, are lighting up the celebrations along the route ahead of the Relay before their Flame Followers Spectacular performance in Glasgow tonight.”

Sunny Hwang, Vice President & Head of Global Sports Marketing, Samsung Electronics, said: "Samsung is delighted to be a Presenting Partner of the Olympic Torch Relay and we feel the Torchbearers selected really do demonstrate the ‘gone the extra mile’ community element that lies at the heart of our London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay campaign."

For further information please contact the London 2012 Press Office.

Notes to editors:

Each day two short packages of broadcast footage will be made available. The packages will be available via the Footage library – accessible from the Media Centre on london2012.com and direct from this linkhttp://footagelibrary.london2012.com. Media will need to register for access in advance. Registration is free.

The broadcast of the Olympic Torch Relay is provided for Editorial Use Only. There can be no commercial association, no third party association and no commercial/ad superimposition on the video footage, unless the prior written consent of the IOC is acquired.

About the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Presenting Partners:

As the longest standing Presenting Partner of the Olympic Torch Relay, Coca-Cola will be using its heritage and experience to spread excitement across the UK ahead of London 2012. Coca-Cola's national nomination campaign - Future Flames – has focused on finding inspirational young people from across the country to have the once in a lifetime opportunity to carry the Olympic Flame. This summer Coca-Cola will celebrate these Future Flames: young people who use their passions in areas like sport and physical activity, music and dance, and community and the environment; to spread happiness in their local communities.

As the only National Presenting Partner of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, Lloyds TSB will be taking the inspiration and excitement of the Olympic Flame right to the heart of communities across the UK. As part of Lloyds Banking Group, Bank of Scotland will be the National Presenting Partner in Scotland.

We are creating as many opportunities as possible for communities the length and breadth of the UK to get involved as the Flame travels past their front doors. Lloyds TSB’s [Bank of Scotland’s] troupe of performers the Flame Followers will be travelling ahead of the Flame to excite crowds with a unique fusion of street performance, theatre and sport celebrating the endeavour, athleticism, agility and skill of Olympic sporting heroes, Team GB.

Lloyds Banking Group is Britain’s biggest corporate investor in UK communities and in 2011 invested £85 million and as part of the Group’s Community Investment Programme, we’ve launched the Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund to give back to the communities in which we operate and pass through on our journey with the Olympic Flame. We’re inviting everyone to visit the Bank of Scotland stand at each Evening Celebration to vote for a community project in their area that inspires and supports young people. By voting at the Evening Celebration members of the public will automatically enter a draw to win four tickets to London 2012. The two projects that receive the most votes in each locality will each win a £5,000 grant from Lloyds Banking Group. At the Bank of Scotland site members of the public will also have the opportunity to have their photo taken with the Olympic Torch, meet Bank of Scotland Local Heroes – the future stars of Team GB and ParalympicsGB – and get up close to our Flame Followers.

As a Presenting Partner of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, Samsung aims to encourage everyone to be part of the greatest show on Earth to make London 2012 ‘Everyone’s Olympic Games.’ We aspire to offer new and memorable experiences for everyone around the world through our own innovative and smart wireless technology. Samsung is providing 1,360 Torchbearers, who have “gone the extra mile” by contributing to the local communities, through its worldwide public nomination campaign. In total over 25,000 nominations were received. Samsung will support towns and cities to celebrate the exciting moment of the Torch Relay and help showcase Great Britain’s cultural landmarks to provide a more enjoyable experience to everyone. The evening celebrations that will be staged by Samsung in 66 towns and cities throughout the Olympic Flame’s journey across the UK, will allow Samsung to entertain the community they are visiting. The Samsung caravan, complete with LED screen on the side showcasing runners and goodwill messages, will follow the Torchbearers around the UK cheering up everyone to celebrate the Torch Relay with music and interaction with local communities. It is Samsung’s ambition that London 2012 will be an event that reaches and involves more people than on any other Olympic Games occasion.

The Supporters of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay are:
Worldwide Olympic Partners Procter and Gamble and Visa, Tier One Partners adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT and EDF, Tier Three Providers Aggreko, Holiday Inn and NATURE VALLEY.

The BBC will be providing extensive coverage of the Torch Relay on television, radio and online. This will include special Breakfast shows on every BBC local radio station, and extended live coverage of an evening celebration event in every Nation and English Region. Full details of the coverage will be at bbc.co.uk/2012.

London 2012 Games partners:
The Worldwide Olympic Partners who support the London 2012 Olympic Games and the National Olympic Committees around the world are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow Chemical Company, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.

LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS.

There are now twenty-eight domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, G4S, GSK, Gymnova, Heathrow Airport, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, NATURE VALLEY, Next, Nielsen, Populous, Rapiscan Systems, Rio Tinto, Technogym, Thames Water, Ticketmaster, Trebor and Westfield