Olympics: London 2012 torch relay starts in Britain
LAND'S END: Sailor Ben Ainslie was the first
torchbearer as the Olympic flame began its 70-day journey around Britain and Ireland
on Saturday ahead of the 2012 London
The flame arrived in Britain
from Greece on Friday and
was flown to Land's End, the southwesterly tip of England
Ainslie, who has won gold medals in sailing at
the last three Olympics, then walked just 300 metres, allowing some of the
hundreds of spectators lining the route in the morning sunshine to touch the
gold-coloured torch.
The yachtsman, wearing the number 001 on his
T-shirt as the first torchbearer, then passed on the torch to 18-year-old
Anastassia Swallow, a surfer who is hoping that her sport will one day become
an Olympic discipline.
The torch will be carried by 8,000 people as it
makes its way around the United Kingdom ,
with its final destination the Olympic Stadium in east London
From June 3-7, it will visit Northern Ireland and then the Republic of Ireland
- the only country outside the United
Kingdom
