2012 London Olympic torch route unveiled

PanARMENIAN.Net - Schoolchildren, charity fundraisers, war veterans and a centenarian are among 8,000 people who will carry the Olympic flame in the torch relay for the 2012 London Games, organizers announced Monday, March 19.

London Games officials unveiled a street-by-street map of the 8,000-mile (12,875-kilometer) route, which begins at Land's End, the westernmost tip of England on May 19.

Some 8,000 torchbearers will carry the flame across Britain, with a stop in Dublin, Ireland.

The International Olympic Committee ruled relays should be confined to host countries after human rights protests disrupted the international route before the 2008 Beijing Games.

Most of the torchbearers are members of the public chosen for embodying community spirit, courage and sporting determination.

The volunteers, who each will cover about 300 yards (meters) include Britain's oldest full-time firefighter and a soldier who lost three of his limbs in an explosion in Afghanistan.

Olympic organizers said Monday that the relay will pass within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of 95 percent of Britain's population, The Associated Press reported.