London Evening Standard/London
Nearly 1,000 torchbearers will carry the Olympic flame on its final week-long journey through the capital, it was revealed yesterday.It will arrive in spectacular style this Friday as a Royal Marines commando abseils from a helicopter with the flame into the Tower of London at 8pm.Celebrity torchbearers named yesterday include sporting heroes Daley Thompson — one of Britain’s greatest Olympians — former world champion boxer Lennox Lewis and England’s greatest goalkeeper, Gordon Banks, who will carry the flame at Wembley.Chinese concert pianist Lang Lang, Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint, comedian David Walliams — chosen for his Sport Relief fundraising — are among the star names, while EastEnders’s Billy Mitchell will carry the torch around Albert Square in a live broadcast of the BBC soap. There will also be a roles for Doreen Lawrence, the mother of murdered teenager Stephen, as well as local heroes such as Sikh marathon runner Fauja Singh, who, at 101, is the oldest torchbearer.Antoine de Navacelle, great-grand nephew of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who founded the modern Olympics, will also carry the flame.Games organisers Locog yesterday revealed further details of the route of the torch, which will be carried by 982 bearers on a 200-mile route visiting each London borough.On the final day, July 27, seven people will carry the flame on board Gloriana — the Queen’s barge, which starred in the Jubilee pageant — as it travels east along the Thames after starting the day winding through the maze at Hampton Court Palace.They will each light a torch from a ceremonial cauldron on board the vessel — holding it aloft for eight minutes at the best vantage points for crowds lined along the Thames.Sixteen oarsmen and women — selected from a squad of former British Olympic rowers — will power the boat, which will be surrounded by a small flotilla showcasing London’s maritime heritage. At 12.45pm, the Gloriana reaches Tower Bridge for a photo opportunity before it disappears from public view — as organisers need to clear the crowds ahead of that night’s opening ceremony.At 3pm, the East End will effectively shut down as transport chiefs urge all but opening ceremony ticket-holders or anyone attending other Olympic events in the area to avoid Stratford.Already 9mn people have watched the torch during its 60-plus-day nationwide tour, and it will comfortably break the 10mn mark next week, organisers believe.They urged Londoners to watch it in their own neighbourhoods rather than travelling into central London, where many roads will be closed on the final two days of the relay, and transport chiefs have warned of congestion.