Kelly holmes to bring olympic torch to the o2

By Tom Derbyshire on February 21, 2008 11:48 AM |

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Double gold medal winner Dame Kelly Holmes will be one of 80 torchbearers heading to Docklands as part of the worldwide Beijing Olympic Torch Relay.

The athlete, who claimed two first places at the 2004 Athens Games, will be joined by broadcaster Sir Trevor McDonald and actress Amara Karan, recently in The Darjeeling Limited and St Trinian’s, carrying the Olympic flame across London on Sunday, April 6.

It will be taken through 10 London boroughs, starting at Wembley Stadium, site of the 1948 Olympic Games, and finishing at the O2 Arena at North Greenwich, which is to be one of the venues for the 2012 Games.

The torch relay goes to 22 cities on five continents and every province in China, before arriving back in Beijing for the start of the 2008 Olympic Games on August 8.

The London leg marks the final day of the China in London season and a programme of free events is planned at key points along the London route, which will take in Notting Hill, Marble Arch and Oxford Street, Trafalgar Square and the South Bank, the City and east London.

The day will culminate in a free, ticketed event at The O2 (see www.london.gov.uk/relay).
The ceremonial lighting of the flame takes place at Olympia in Greece on March 24.