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On July 20, a week before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London, the Olympic flame arrived in the host city in dramatic style. It was brought to the Tower of London by the Royal Navy.
A Royal Marine Commando abseiled into the Tower of London, which dates back 1 000 years and is one of London’s most popular tourist attractions on the River Thames, at 2012 local time (1912GMT).
The flame will share the same security as the Crown Jewels used for royal coronations.
“The Tower of London really is the gateway to London so it is really appropriate that the flame spends its first night here securely in the Jewel House with the other things that are important to the nation, the crown jewels,” Richard Dannatt, constable of the tower and a former British Army commander, told BBC television.
It was carried along the castle’s ramparts by double Olympic middle-distance gold medallist Kelly Holmes.
Significant numbers are expected to turn out to see the flame during its tour around London which will take in palaces, religious, political and royal landmarks.Organisers hope it will draw attention away from recent damaging headlines including a botched private security recruitment drive, wet weather, transport glitches and the threat of strike action by border officials and train drivers in central England.
An estimated 10 million people have turned out to watch the flame since it began its journey on May 19 at Land’s End, the most southwesterly point of mainland England.
Athletes, celebrities and people chosen for their community work have carried the torch along much of the 12 900kms journey around Britain and northern Ireland.
It has been taken to Wales’ highest mountain, been ferried across the River Mersey in northwest England and also visited Dublin on a rare trip outside the United Kingdom.
The disruptions and political demonstrations seen four years ago ahead of the Beijing Games have been absent from the 2012 relay.
Early on Saturday, July 21, the flame travelled through the Meridian Time Line in Greenwich, and the royal park where the Olympic equestrian events will be held.
Former gymnast Nadia Comaneci and basketball player John Amaechi took it to the roof of the North Greenwich Arena, the venue for gymnastics events and basketball finals.
Later in the week, it will go to the steps of Christopher Wren’s 300-year-old domed St Paul’s Cathedral, and the stage of Shakespeare’s Globe theatre. It will also appear in Downing Street, the official residence of the prime minister, and Buckingham Palace, the central London home of Queen Elizabeth.
On its final day, the relay will start at Hampton Court Palace, made famous by Henry VIII, and its winding hedge maze, before being carried down the River Thames on the royal barge Gloriana, used in Queen Elizabeth’s celebrations last month to mark her 60 years’ reign.
It will arrive at Tower Bridge at about midday and then reappear later in the evening at the Olympic Park in east London where it will light the cauldron during the opening ceremony to start the Games.
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