Paralympic torch heads for London

28 August 2012 Last updated at 06:05 ET

The flame will be carried along a 92-mile route by 580 torchbearers

The torch relay which will herald the start of the 2012 Paralympic Games in London is due to start in a few hours.

Four national flames, kindled last week, are being brought together in a ceremony in Stoke Mandeville - the spiritual home of the Paralympics.

Leaving Buckinghamshire at 20:00 BST, the flame will be carried to London overnight for Wednesday's opening ceremony at the Olympic Stadium.

The Paralympic flame will be carried 92 miles by a total of 580 torchbearers.

Lantern procession

Around 3,000 invited guests, including Paralympians, representatives from disability groups and local residents, will attend the ceremony at Stoke Mandeville Stadium which starts at 16:00 BST.

Local performers will entertain the crowds ahead of speeches by International Paralympic Committee president Sir Phillip Craven, Sebastian Coe, chair of Games organisers Locog, and culture secretary Jeremy Hunt.

At about 19:45 BST a lantern procession will see the four national flames carried into the stadium by torchbearers.

Once inside they will light a celebration cauldron - creating the Paralympic flame from the national flames.

At 20:00 BST the first team of torchbearers will leave the stadium, signalling the start of the 24-hour torch relay.

Highlights of the route include visits to the National Spinal Injuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville, Lord's Cricket Ground and London Zoo.

In Trafalgar Square former boxer Michael Watson, wheelchair racer Dame Tanni Grey Thompson and Paralympic swimmer Chris Holmes will carry the flame.

When it arrives at the Olympic Park in east London it will be used to light the cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Games.

The event, called Enlightenment and created by Bradley Hemmings and Jenny Sealey, will showcase the skills of disabled artists with a cast of 3,000 adult volunteers including injured soldiers and past Paralympic athletes.

The four national flames were kindled at the summit of the highest peaks in Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales last week.

They were used to light ceremonial cauldrons in London's Trafalgar Square on Friday, outside Stormont in Northern Ireland on Saturday, at the Mound in Edinburgh on Sunday and outside City Hall in Cardiff on Monday.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19396683#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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