Olympic Torch Relay route through Hackney finally revealed
The route the Olympic Torch Relay will take though Hackney has finally been announced.
Although the date Saturday 21 July was announced in November, the route was not released for security and commercial reasons.
Now it is hoped residents will be out in force to cheer Torchbearers as they enter Hackney in Shoreditch High Street, six days before the Olympic Games officially begin.
The flame, which weighs just 800g and was created by Shoreditch based designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, will travel north up Kingsland Road, and left into Stoke Newington Church Street, on into Clissold Park.
Local Torchbearers will then run the torch eastwards through Homerton in 300 metre legs until it passes into Waltham Forest along Eastway.
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The relay will coincide with the One Hackney Festival, a borough wide carnival, with a musical street parade along the Torch route, culminating with a party in Stoke Newington’s Clissold Park.
A festival fringe will extend the celebrations to all of Hackney’s town centres with food, performance and music.
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Sebastian Coe, Chair of LOCOG said: “Now the people know the route the Olympic Flame will be carried along and the Torchbearers for their community, they can start planning how they might celebrate and make it Hackney’s moment to shine.
“The Flame symbolises the Olympic spirit and its journey around the UK will bring the excitement of the Games to our streets.”
An average of 115 Torchbearers a day will carry the Olympic Flame during its 8,000 mile journey around the UK before it arrives at the Olympic Stadium on Friday July 27 for the official start of the 2012 Games.
The route has been devised to take the Olympic Flame to within ten miles of over 95 per cent of the population.
