Olympic Flame Visits Foxton Locks

Day 45: Olympic Flame to Visit Foxton Locks and Coventry Cathedral on Journey from Coventry to Leicester

On Monday 2 July, the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay – presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung – will travel 100.95 miles through 16 communities on its journey from Coventry to Leicester.

(PRWEB) July 02, 2012
On Monday 2 July, the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay – presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung – will travel 100.95 miles through 16 communities on its journey from Coventry to Leicester. 

• On 2 July the Relay will travel 100.95 miles
• 135 Torchbearers will carry the Flame
• Evening celebration to take place at Abbey Park, Leicester
• Images from today can be downloaded here

On Monday 2 July, the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay – presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung – will travel 100.95 miles through 16 communities on its journey from Coventry to Leicester.

The Relay will travel through the following communities: Coventry, Rugby, Dunchurch, Northampton, Wellingborough, Isham, Kettering, Geddington, Corby, Dingley, Market Harborough, Lubenham, Foxton, Kibworth Harcourt, Oadby, Leicester.

Highlights for today include:

At 07.08 the Flame will visit Coventry Cathedral when the first Torchbearer of the day - Ali Abdillahi - will run through the grounds of the Cathedral. Ali has been nominated by Coventry City Council for his sporting and educational achievements.

During the day, the Flame will also visit Althorp House in Northampton and Coventry City Football Club.

At 16.08 the Flame will be taken on a canal boat at Foxton Locks by David Willson, 48 from Hollowell. David spends his time volunteering and serving others and is hoping to encourage hundreds of families around the London area to host 1000 Olympic and Paralympic Family members in their homes for free during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. These families would not otherwise be able to afford to come to the Games and see their relatives compete. This program has already received the LOCOG Inspire Mark and the goal is to have this program implemented at all future games.

The last Torchbearer of the day - Phil Fuller - was nominated by Leicester City Council. Phil is fully committed to changing the lives of other young people in Leicester. He is the elected representative for the Children in Care Council for Leicester. Phil has played a vital role in the setting up of the Children in Care Council, and the development of the Children In Care Council Pledge. This pledge has now gone live across the City. Phil has grown from strength to strength as a representative of young people in the City in particular representing a very vulnerable section of society.

The evening celebration will take place in Abbey Park, Leicester. The celebration will feature a variety of entertainment staged by LOCOG and the three Presenting Partners of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay - Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung.

The line-up includes music from Morning Parade, a dance troupe who will provide a unique fusion of street performance, theatre and sport and dance act Twist and Pulse.

The Philharmonia will present a special performance of ‘Bamboozled’, a high energy, audience participation piece featuring Leicester schools accompanied by a specially recorded video performance by the orchestra.

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

James Williams, Director, Olympic Torch Relay, Coca-Cola Northwest Europe & Nordics, said: “Today, more Coca-Cola Future Flames will help us celebrate the forty-fifth day of our amazing journey, including Paul Davies and Niall Graham who carry the Olympic Flame in Northampton and Corby. We will also get everyone to Move to the Beat tonight as we bring Morning Parade to the stage in Leicester.”

Sally Hancock, Director, London 2012 Partnership at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “We are proud to be bringing the excitement of London 2012 to communities along the route of the Olympic Torch Relay. Lloyds TSB is creating as many opportunities as possible for people in the Midlands and Leicestershire to get involved as the Olympic Flame passes their door. We’re calling on everyone to cheer on their local Lloyds TSB Torchbearers – extraordinary people like Robert Gomez and Lucy Davies, carrying the Flame in Lubenham and Leicester. The Lloyds TSB Flame Followers will also light up the route ahead of the Flame, before their Flame Followers Spectacular performance in Leicester tonight.”

Sunny Hwang, Vice President & Head of Global Sports Marketing, Samsung Electronics, said: "Samsung's Olympic Torch Relay campaign shares the Olympic spirit and encourages everyone to take part in London 2012. Samsung has offered an inspiring opportunity to people around the world to carry the Olympic Flame, as part of our ambition to make London 2012 Everyone's Olympic Games."

Torchbearer highlights:

Timothy Don, 34, who is carrying the Flame in Coventry. Since his 1st place position in the 1998 World JuniorTriathlon Championships, Tim Don has been one of Britain’s most consistently successful athletes. He is the only British athlete that has competed in all three Olympic triathlons since its inclusion in Sydney 2000 (Sydney Athens, and Beijing), but the highlight was winning the 2006 World Title in Lausanne. He also has seven ITU World Cup wins to his name.

Jaime Halsey, 32, who is carrying the Flame in Leicester. Jaime has over 17 years experience competing internationally in the sport of trampoline gymnastics competing at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney where trampolining made its Olympic debut. Since retiring from competition Jaime has stayed involved coaching and mentoring of current athletes. Jaime joined the BOA Athletes’ Commission in 2011
Paul Davies, 26, who is carrying the Flame in Northampton and is from Northampton. Selected through the Coca-Cola Future Flames programme, Paul's two best friends were tragically shot dead in 2011. To celebrate their name, Paul has established a charity to inspire young people to be a positive force for good in their communities. The charity, Always a Chance, raised over £100,000 within 12 weeks and they hope to raise £1 million within 12 months. The money will be used to support and initiate projects which provide opportunities for young people with the aim of inspiring them to achieve greatness and steer away from the pitfalls of violent crime.

Keith Richards, 68, from Rugby and carrying the Flame in Rugby, was nominated through the Lloyds TSB public nomination campaign is a real champion of athletics and has given over 40 years of service to supporting athletics in the Coventry and Warwickshire area.

Richard Smith, 26, from Derbyshire and carrying the Flame in Dingley, was nominated through the LOCOG campaign. Tragically half way through Richard’s first year at the top sporting university in Loughborough, his parents and his sister died in a plane crash. To help his grief, he became determined to succeed, dedicating his life to their memory. Having served as AU President he established a sports volunteer programme for students, which was immensely successful. In this role, he led a substantial charity project which involved leading a team of students to raise £15,000 over the academic year for Zambia, which included entering The Steel Man Triathlon. He will visit Zambia over the summer, teaching through workshops different sports and taking part, in talks on AIDs and other health issues. His story is a tragic yet inspiring one. He has been an inspiration to Loughborough students and will certainly raise the profile of sport in Zambia. His parents and sister would surely be so proud.

Phil Fuller, 21, from Leicester and carrying the Flame in Leicester. Phil was nominated by Leicester City Council through the LOCOG campaign. Phil has been a member of the YPC for three years now, he is fully committed to changing the lives of other young people in Leicester. He is the elected representative for the Children in Care Council for Leicester. Phil has played a vital role in the setting up of the Children in Care Council, and the development of the Children in Care Council Pledge, this pledge has now gone live across the City. Phil has grown from strength to strength as a representative of young people in the City in particular representing a very vulnerable section of society.

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 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 Lloyds TSB 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 at each locality will each win a £5,000 grant from Lloyds Banking Group. At the Lloyds TSB site members of the public will also have the opportunity to have their photo taken with the Olympic Torch, meet Lloyds TSB 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.

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 Westfiel