Flame for London Games arrives in Britain - star.com.my
CULDROSE, England (Reuters) - The flame for the London Olympics burned brightly on British soil on Friday after David Beckham stepped off a special flight from the Games birthplace of Greece to light a cauldron with a golden torch.
The British Airways 'Firefly' Flight 2012 from Athens landed on time at the Culdrose naval air station with Britain's Princess Anne, Games chairman Seb Coe and the former England soccer captain among the delegation.
The flame will start a 70-day torch relay around Britain on Saturday, with triple Olympic gold medallist sailor Ben Ainslie carrying it on the first leg from Land's End on the south-west tip of England.
The Games start on July 27.
London mayor Boris Johnson, his mane of unruly blond hair trimmed for the occasion, declared the moment to be "a big accelerator of the heartbeat".
"We've got 70 days to go," he told reporters before heading back to London on the golden-liveried plane.
"For someone in my position this is the final furlong for us and that's when the horses start to change places and so this is going to make the difference now between a good Games and a great Games."
British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg welcomed the Olympic torch on behalf of the British government on a clear evening in marked contrast to the torrential rain left behind in Athens.
"It is a fantastic moment for us, particularly at a time when there is so much anxiety and concern about the economy and other things, to be uplifted by this whole experience and to be able to showcase ourselves to the world as an open-hearted, generous, dynamic, positive country," he told the BBC.
"It's a wonderful opportunity for the country as a whole."
CUSTARD COMET
The arrival of the flame, with Princess Anne carrying it in a special lantern down the steps from the plane, was covered live on Britain's main BBC station with the plane circling overhead before landing to fit in with the schedules.
"It's only when the torch comes into your possession that you realise," the Princess said as she handed the lantern to one of the special security team who will guard it.
Beckham soon lit the Olympic torch and ignited a cauldron with the flame, which was then due to be transferred to Lands End for Saturday's relay start.
Johnson said the manner of the flame's arrival bodes well.
"The plane landed bang on time, in fact it was early," he declared enthusiastically.
"We circled over Cornwall like a custard-coloured comet and that is a metaphor in my view for everything that has happened so far in the London Olympics. It's been either on time or ahead of time and it's under budget."
On Thursday, the flame had been handed over at a damp ceremony in the Athens marble stadium that hosted the first modern Games in 1896.
The flame, lit from the sun's rays at the home of the ancient Games in Olympia a week ago, was presented under grey and rainy skies to former Olympian Princess Anne by the president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee Spyros Capralos.
Coe, who will head off to Munich on Saturday to watch his beloved Chelsea play Bayern Munich in the Champions League final, was confident the torch relay would light the fire for anyone still ambivalent about the Games.
"It does have a big impact," he said.
"I saw the test event the other day with a cardboard torch going from Leicester to Peterborough and they (the spectators) were three and four deep on the pavement, in the little villages.
"And every week I get letters from people who are talking about the things they are doing to mark the fact the torch is coming through. There's an emotional connect with this that I'm not sure all torch relays have got."
London Olympics 2012 torch relay starts in Britain - Raw Story
Yachtsman Ben Ainslie was the first torchbearer as the Olympic flame began its 70-day journey around Britain and Ireland on Saturday ahead of the 2012 London Games.
With the Atlantic Ocean behind him at Land’s End, England’s most southwesterly point, the triple Olympic gold medallist waited while the flame was flown in by a Royal Navy search and rescue helicopter.
Lieutenant Commander Richard Full carried the flame off the helicopter in a golden lantern, posed briefly for photographers, and took it a short distance to light the torch that Ainslie was holding in the bright morning sunshine.
Ainslie then set off, barely breaking into a jog as he let some of the 3,500 spectators lining the route touch the golden torch whose design has led it to be nicknamed the “cheese grater”.
After travelling barely 300 metres (yards), he passed on the torch to 18-year-old Anastassia Swallow, a surfer who is hoping that her sport will one day become an Olympic discipline.
Over the next 10 weeks, the torch will travel 8,000 miles (12,875 kilometres) around England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and will also visit the Republic of Ireland.
Some 8,000 people — one for every mile of the route — will take part in the torch relay as it heads for the Olympic Stadium in east London for the opening ceremony on July 27.
Ainslie, who just a day earlier won a sixth world title in the Finn class as he steps up his efforts to win a fourth Olympic gold, said it had been a special moment for him to start the relay in his home county of Cornwall.
“I’m really very proud for the whole nation,” said Britain’s greatest Olympic yachtsman, who wore the number 001 on his white London 2012 top.
“It was pretty emotional, so much effort has gone into getting the Olympics in London and it means so much to everyone involved.”
On its first leg, the torch was to be carried through Cornwall to the city of Plymouth.
On its 70-day odyssey, it will travel through 1,019 cities, towns and villages and visit landmarks such as Stonehenge.
From June 3-7, it will go to Northern Ireland and then the Republic of Ireland — the only country outside the United Kingdom on the route.
No overseas legs of the relay have been planned this year after those before the 2008 Beijing Games were hit by protests against China.
The flame was lit in Ancient Olympia in Greece on May 10 and was handed over to the British delegation in Athens in a rain-sodden ceremony on Thursday.
It was flown to Britain on board a British Airways plane renamed The Firefly for the occasion, accompanied by football star David Beckham and Princess Anne, the daughter of Queen Elizabeth II.
Beckham had the honour of lighting the first torch at the Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall on Friday.
In contrast to the shoestring operation when Britain last hosted the Olympics in 1948, just three years after World War II ended, this year’s relay is a big-budget affair, with parties and public events at each of its stops.
The oldest runner will be a 100-year-old woman, while Olympians past and present and soldiers injured in Afghanistan will also take part.
But the London 2012 organisers wanted the bulk of people taking part in the relay to be unsung heroes who have helped their community, individuals involved in sport and younger people.
Swallow, the teenager who had taken over the torch from Ainslie, said it was a memorable day but admitted she got “a bit excited and a little crazy and ran too fast”.
“I was really surprised by the atmosphere here today. Everyone was cheering and calling my name. It is something I will never forget.”
A14 Nacton fatal crash: Victim was in towed car - BBC News
The victim in a fatal crash on the A14 in Suffolk was in a car being towed by a van, police have revealed.
The woman, named by officers as Carmen Bucur, of Hollesley Road in Alderton, near Woodbridge, died at the scene at Nacton on Wednesday morning.
Ms Bucur's Vauxhall Corsa was being towed when the two vehicles were involved in a crash with a lorry.
A man, 43, from Feltham, west London, has been bailed until July on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
Police said they were keen to speak to anyone who had seen the Corsa being towed by the van.
London 2012: Sailor Ben Ainslie Kicks Off Olympic Torch Relay (PICTURES) - Huffington Post
SEE ALSO
- Olympic Flame Arrives In Cornwall At Start Of Torch Relay
- Olympic Torch Officially In British Hands
- How The Torch's Journey Has Changed Since 1948
- Navy Responsible For Olympic Torch
Olympic torch starts journey to London - SBS
The Olympic flame was greeted by thousands of cheering spectators as it began its 70-day relay journey around Britain and Ireland on Saturday ahead of the 2012 London Games.
Triple gold medal-winning yachtsman Ben Ainslie was the first torchbearer, setting off from Land's End, England's most southwesterly point, before a succession of runners carried the torch through Cornwall to Plymouth.
With the Atlantic Ocean glistening behind him in the early morning sunshine, Ainslie waited while the flame was flown to Land's End by a Royal Navy search and rescue helicopter.
The yachtsman barely broke into a jog as he let some of the spectators lining the route touch the golden torch whose design has spawned the nickname "cheese grater".
After travelling barely 300 metres, he passed on the torch to 18-year-old Anastassia Swallow, a surfer who is hoping her sport will one day become an Olympic discipline.
Over the next 10 weeks, the flame will travel 8,000 miles (12,875km) around England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and will also visit the Republic of Ireland.
Some 8,000 people -- one for every mile of the route -- will take part in the torch relay as it heads for the Olympic Stadium in east London for the opening ceremony on July 27.
Ainslie, who just a day earlier won a sixth world title in the Finn class as he steps up his efforts to win a fourth Olympic gold, said it had been a special moment for him to start the relay in his home county.
"I'm really very proud for the whole nation," said Britain's greatest Olympic yachtsman, who wore the number 001 on his white London 2012 top.
"It was pretty emotional, so much effort has gone into getting the Olympics in London and it means so much to everyone involved."
On its 70-day odyssey, it will travel through 1,019 cities, towns and villages and visit landmarks such as Stonehenge.
From June 3-7, it will go to Northern Ireland and the Irish capital Dublin -- the only time the torch will leave the United Kingdom on the route.
On the first day, the specially trained police officers who will run alongside the torch throughout its journey swiftly tackled a man who they thought was trying to get near to one of the torchbearers.
They pushed him into a hedge and the relay continued without a pause.
The flame was lit in Ancient Olympia in Greece on May 10 and handed over to the British delegation in Athens in a rain-sodden ceremony on Thursday.
It was flown to Britain on board a British Airways plane renamed The Firefly for the occasion, accompanied by football star David Beckham and Princess Anne.
Each runner is allowed to keep their torch, but although organisers have said they hope they will be cherished as souvenirs, one appeared on eBay on Saturday, attracting bids in excess of STG2,000 ($A3,200).
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'London 2012 - The Official Videogame of the Olympic Games' preview - Digital Spy
London 2012 torch relay starts in Britain - Assam Tribune
LANDS END (UK), May 19 (AFP): Sailor Ben Ainslie was the first torchbearer as the Olympic flame began its 70-day journey around Britain and Ireland today ahead of the 2012 London Games.
The flame arrived in Britain from Greece yesterday and was flown to Lands End, the southwesterly tip of England, today by a Royal Navy helicopter before it was used to light the torch for the start of the 8,000 mile (12,875-kilometre) relay.
Ainslie, who has won gold medals in sailing at the last three Olympics, then walked just 300 metres, allowing some of the 3,500 spectators lining the route in the morning sunshine to touch the gold-coloured torch.
The yachtsman, wearing the number 001 on his T-shirt as the first torchbearer, then passed on the torch to 18-year-old Anastassia Swallow, a surfer who is hoping that her sport will one day become an Olympic discipline.
Ainslie, who on Friday won a sixth world title in the Finn class as he prepares for an attempt to win a fourth Olympic gold, said it had been a special moment for him to start the relay in his home county of Cornwall.
It was pretty emotional, so much effort has gone into getting the Olympics in London and it means so much to everyone involved, he said.
On its first day, the torch will be carried through Cornwall to the city of Plymouth.
Over the next 10 weeks, 8,000 people will carry the torch as it makes its way around the United Kingdom and heads for the Olympic Stadium in east London for the opening ceremony on July 27.
It will travel through 1,019 cities, towns and villages and visit landmarks such as Stonehenge.
From June 3-7, it will go to Northern Ireland and then the Republic of Ireland the only country outside the United Kingdom on the torch route.
No overseas legs of the relay have been planned this year after those before the 2008 Beijing Games was hit by protests against China.
The flame was lit in Ancient Olympia in Greece on May 10 and was handed over to the British delegation in Athens in a rain-blighted ceremony on Thursday.
It was flown to Britain encased in a special lantern on board a British Airways plane renamed The Firefly for the occasion, accompanied by football star David Beckham and Princess Anne, the daughter of Queen Elizabeth II.
Beckham had the honour of lighting the first torch at the Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall on Friday.
In contrast to the shoestring operation when Britain last hosted the Olympics in 1948, this years relay is a big-budget affair, with parties and public events at each of its stops.
London 2012 - Idowu impresses in Shanghai - Yahoo! Eurosport
Great Britain's Phillips Idowu won the trimple jump at the Shanghai Diamond League meeting to give his Olympic preparations a boost.
Former world champion Idowu made a good start to a season he hopes will climax with Olympic gold medal on home soil with victory in the triple jump with a leap of 17.24 metres.
"I am in great shape," said the Londoner.
"My timing was slightly off and my technique was not perfect, but this was the first one of the year and I feel great."
China's Liu Xiang lit up a rain-soaked meeting with the quickest 110 metres hurdles time of the year, sprinting to victory in 12.97 seconds to the delight of his home town crowd
If the former world champion was trying to lower expectations about his chances of regaining the Olympic title he relinquished through injury in Beijing, he went about it in the wrong way in front of more than 40,000 screaming compatriots.
A blistering start put him well clear by the halfway mark and he raced across the line half a metre ahead of American David Oliver (13.13) before ripping off his shirt in delight at the first sub-13 second time of the year.
"I am really happy. I executed well, I ran my own race and wasn't thinking about the others. I just did what I had to do and I won," the 28-year-old told reporters.
"The crowd came out despite the wind and rain and I really enjoyed the atmosphere. I had to put on a fantastic performance for them."
Former world record holder Asafa Powell won the men's 100m easing up but he failed to add to his record tally of sub-10 second times when he crossed the line in 10.02 ahead of American Michael Rodgers (10.08).
"I did technically well so I'm happy," the Jamaican said. "I felt good, it went well but it was raining so I didn't push too hard."
His compatriot Veronica Campbell-Brown was not able to ease up in her first 200 metres run of the year as she did battle with American Carmelita Jeter in a showdown of the world sprint champions.
Jeter came at the Jamaican three times down the home straight but Campbell-Brown, who will be going for a third straight gold in the event in London, had enough in the tank to see her home in 22.50 seconds.
"The more I win the more confident I become," she said. "This was my first 200 metres of the year and I have a lot of work to do but I know from how I felt in this one that each race will get better so I'm just praying for good health."
World indoor champion Genzebe Dibaba did not hold back in the women's 1500 metres either and sprinted home in three minutes 57.77 seconds, by far the fastest time of the year and the quickest ever run by an Ethiopian woman.
"I am very, very happy," said Dibaba, the 21-year-old sister of Olympic 5,000 and 10,000m champion Tirunesh. "I felt strong and I had a good feeling that I would win."
Her compatriot Kenenisa Bekele, whose 5,000-10,000 metres double was one of the highlights of the Beijing Olympics, managed just fifth place in his first 5,000 of the season behind compatriot Hagos Gebrhwet, who won in 13.11.00.
Olympic pole vault champion Steve Hooker's revival proved short-lived as just a week after he nailed the London qualifying height in Perth with a jump of 5.72m, he failed to get into the air in three attempts at 5.30m.
Heavy rain made a lottery of some of the field events.
Olympic men's javelin champion Andreas Thorkildsen managed three throws before calling it quits and Czech Vitezslav Vesely won the event with a throw of 85.40m.
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