Stafford Borough was celebrating today after it was announced the Olympic Torch would be coming through the area in the build up to the 2012 games.
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) revealed today (Monday 7 November) that the flame will come through Stafford and the nearby villages of Gnosall and Haughton.
It follows months of discussions by the council and organisers of the London games and now preparations are being made to accommodate the torch when it arrives in the town on Wednesday 30 May next year.
Councillor Mike Smith, deputy leader of the borough council and the cabinet member responsible for leisure, said it was brilliant news for the whole borough. He said: “This isn’t about an individual town or villages – this is about the chance for our whole community to get a once in the life time opportunity to see one of the iconic symbols of the Olympics on our doorstep and we want everyone to share in those celebrations.”
Councillor Smith visited youngsters at the Castlechurch school in Stafford today (Monday 7 November) to tell them the torch was coming to the town and to hand over an official invite for them to come along and see it.
The Olympic organisers confirmed the 1,000 villages, towns and cities the torchbearers will visit during its 70-day tour of the UK. Details of the route will not be released until next year. The ‘Flame’ will be carried across the UK by 8,000 nominated torchbearers. Successful nominees will be contacted with a conditional offer next month and final places will start to be confirmed from February 2012.
Sebastian Coe, Chair of LOCOG said: ‘We are thrilled to confirm that Stafford, Gnosall and Haughton will act as host locations for the Olympic Flame, extending an invitation to people in the borough to welcome the Olympic Torch Relay during its journey around the UK. This is the UK’s moment to shine and I want to encourage people across Stafford Borough to start planning how they can be part of this once in a lifetime opportunity and show their support for the inspirational Torchbearers chosen to carry the Olympic Flame as we count down to the start of the Olympic Games.”
Click below to hear Ian Beddow talking to Adam Hill from Stafford Borough Council
ADAM HILL – SBC – HEAD OF LEISURE AND CULTURE
Pictured: Castlechurch Primary Deputy Head Christine Saville and Mike Smith, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture at Stafford Borough Council with children from the school
