Olympic Handover Flag to be raised across the UK and around the world [1]
Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 18:38. Updated on Sunday, October 26, 2014 - 16:06.
The London 2012 Organising Committee has announced that the Olympic Handover Flag will be raised in over 400 venues across the UK to celebrate the moment when London becomes the next Summer Olympic Host City, on Sunday 24th August.
A first in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Olympic Handover Flags will be raised in locations including Local Government Buildings, HM UK Army Barracks, Whitehall Departments, and iconic locations including the northern most point of the British Isles, Unst Island (part of the Shetland Islands) and the southern most point, Land's End in Cornwall. Olympic Handover Flags will also be raised at Lowestoft, the most easterly point in England and the Isles of Scilly, the most westerly point. Other UK landmarks will include 10 Downing Street, the National Maritime Museum, HMS Belfast and Colchester Garrison. Flags will also be flying in the Mall.
In addition to the UK, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has distributed flags to its Overseas Missions from Vancouver to Tokyo and the British Council has distributed to their offices across the world from Venezuela to Taiwan. All will mark the beginning of London...s Olympiad by raising the Olympic Handover Flag.
This activity will follow the moment when London Mayor Boris Johnson is symbolically handed the Olympic flag, officially marking the start of London...s tenure as Summer Olympic Host City in front of a world-wide audience estimated to be around 1.6 billion at the closing ceremony of the current Olympic Games in Beijing.
London 2012 Organising Committee Chairman Sebastian Coe said: "When the Mayor of London accepts the Olympic Flag on 24th August, the eyes of the world will turn to London and the UK as the next Summer Host City. It is a very important and exciting moment for us, and we want as many people as possible to join in the Handover celebrations. We are delighted that so many local authorities share our excitement and are proudly displaying the handover flag to mark this very special moment on our journey to 2012". British High Commission, Suva, 21/08/08.