Track of Olympic torch will signal celebrations (From The Northern Echo)

Track of Olympic torch will signal celebrations

8:00am Tuesday 14th February 2012 in News By Scott Wilson

THE Olympic flame will travel from the Tyne Bridge on a zip wire when the torch relay passes through the North- East and North Yorkshire this summer.

Further details have been revealed about the evening events that will break up the torch’s journey as it travels through the region in mid- June.

The Olympic flame will cross the Scottish border into Northumberland on Thursday, June 14, with the first evening celebration taking place at Alnwick Castle that night.

The following day will see it travel from Alnwick to Newcastle ahead of a major Friday night event on the Quayside.

As part of the festivities, the torch will travel from the Tyne Bridge to the Quayside via a zip wire.

The following morning it will move on to Durham, where a Saturday night party will take place at Riverside Park.

The final North-Eastern celebration is scheduled for Middlesbrough on Sunday, June 17, and will be staged in Centre Square, in front of the Mima art gallery.

Another evening event will follow in York city centre on Tuesday, June 19, with the flame passing through North Yorkshire en route to Carlisle the next day.

Applications to be a torch bearer have closed, and successful applicants are receiving offers to carry the torch.

Each torch bearer will carry the torch for about 300 metres, and it is estimated that about 450 people will be involved in the region.

A number of sporting celebrities will also be involved, and it is envisaged that the final torch bearer of each day will be a celebrity figure, who will then help start the evening event.

Each evening event will feature at least two bands, one of which will have a national profile, with the other coming from the local community. Details of the entertainment schedule should be released within the next month.

Similarly, it is envisaged that a detailed street-level map of the torch’s route will be released closer to the start of the relay, which begins at Land’s End on Saturday, May 19.