Press releases

August 15, 2008
Media Release
Olympic Handover Flag to be raised across the UK  in unprecedented gesture to commemorate Handover Day   The London 2012 Organising Committee announced today 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 worldwide 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 SummerHostCity. 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". When the Olympic Handover Flags are raised, 40,000 people will gather in the Mall for the Visa London 2012 Party to watch 10 performances from multi-million-selling artists including The Feeling, Il Divo, Katherine Jenkins, McFly, Will Young, James Morrison and  Scouting for Girls.  The party will mark the moment when London becomes the next Summer Olympic Host City. Featuring unique collaborations and specially-arranged performances, some with a sporting theme, the show from the Mall will link with the Beijing 2008 Olympic Closing Ceremony. The celebrations will be broadcast live to the rest of the nation on BBC 1 and BBC Radio 2. In addition people all across the country will be able to watch the Visa London 2012 Party via the UK's largest-ever network of public giant screens, known as 'Live Sites'*. These sites will become the hub of activity for communities centred around the Handover moment - be it sport, music or dance and will include a mass sing-a-long as part of the 'Sing The Nation' programme* . Councillor Chris White, Chair of the LGA's Culture, Tourism and Sport board, said : "While the Games in 2012 are happening in London, it's clear there's strong support for them throughout the length and breadth of the country. More than 400 councils have arranged parties and flag-raising events for August 24th to mark the start of an exciting four years. Authorities are already investing in sports facilities and promoting healthier living to ensure the legacy of the Olympic Games will be long-lasting. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for every part of the country to enjoy a boom in business, tourism and sporting excellence, and councils are ready to seize the opportunity." Janet Paraskeva, Chair of the Olympic Lottery Distributor, said: "The Olympic Lottery Distributor is delighted to support the network of Live Sites to help bring communities together to celebrate this exciting moment. With £2.2 billion of Lottery players' money funding the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 we are keen for everyone around the UK to feel part of London 2012". Ends - Notes to Editors:   -           414 Local Authorities throughout the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands will be flying the Olympic Handover Flags. -           Olympic Handover Flags will be flown at MOD/Service locations in:  Royal Artillery Barracks Woolwich, Mitcham Road Barracks in Croydon, School of Physical Training in Aldershot and Colchester Garrison. -           The highest pub in Britain, the Tan Hill Inn, Tan Hill, Richmond, Swaledale, the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, DL11 6ED will be flying the Olympic Handover Flag. -           Olympic Handover Flags will be flown at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Overseas Missions in :  Abuja, Addis Abba, Ankara, Astana  Bangkok , Banjul ,Berlin ,  Beijing, Boston ,Brasilia, Brussels , Bridgetown Canberra, Cape Town, Chicago , Colombo, Dakar,  Dar Es Salaam, Doha,  Dushanbe, Gabarone, Havana,  Hanoi, Jakarta, Kabul, Kingston, Kolkata, Latvia, Lisbon, Lima,  Lilongwe, Luxembourg,  Luanda,  Lusaka, Madrid,  Montserrat, Mexico City, Montevideo,  Munich, Muscat Nairobi, New Delhi,  New York, Panama City, Port Moresby Quito, Reykjavik, Rio, Sao Paulo, Santiago, Seoul, Singapore,  Shanghai, Stockholm,  St Petersburg, Suva,  Tokyo,  Valleta, Vancouver, Victoria, Wellington, Yaounde, and Yerevan. -           Olympic Handover Flags will be flown at the British Councils offices in:  Bahrain, England, Ghana, India, Jordan, Japan, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Thailand, Taiwan and Venezuela. Screen breakdown -           There will be 8 permanent screens funded by the National Lottery through the Olympic Lottery Distributor and London 2012 Sponsors, erected in Cardiff, Middlesbrough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Swansea, Bristol, Norwich and WalthamForest. This project is a unique collaboration between LOCOG and its partners in the project the Olympic Lottery Distributor, Lloyds TSB, BT and Panasonic, the cities and the BBC. -           Two screens will be erected for the 2008 Games in CanaryWharf, (London), and Leicester. -           Further screens will also be operating  for the handover day in Belfast, Glasgow, Herne Bay, Notting Hill and Weymouth, funded by LOCOG and in Hackney,  Greenwich, Coventry, Kettering, Southend-on-Sea and Great Yarmouth, Tower Hamlets and other areas funded by local authorities and organisations. -           Screens from the BBC-driven Public Space Broadcasting Network will be used in Birmingham, Bradford, Derby, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Rotherham, Swindon during the Games and for Handover. -           LOCOG is in discussion with CABE and English Heritage to ensure that these screens are well designed and will have a positive effect on the towns and cities hosting them. Sing the Nation -           A festival to unite the UK in song this August:  all kinds of people singing all kinds of music in all kinds of places. There will be singing in museums, libraries, parks abbeys and city centres.   All events are participatory.  Museum events range from Songs of London at the Museum of London to Sing Yorkshire in Rotherham. -           Sing the Nation culminates on August 24th'Olympic Handover ceremonies when regions across the UK will hold mass city sings led by community choirs. From Glasgow to Cardiff, people across the UK will lift their voices.  The result is expected to be the UK's biggest singalong.   -           Each city will sing one regional song which connects to that location:  Danny Boy in Ulster...I do like to be beside the seaside in Blackpool; Derby Ram in Derby.... Delila in Swansea... Maybe it's Because I'm a Londoner in Walthamstow and Greenwich. -           Cities taking part in the City sings  include:  Middlesbrough; Glasgow; Portsmouth; Manchester; Norwich; Hull; Bradford; Coventry; Derby; Birmingham; Swansea; London; Leicester; Blackpool -           Sing the Nation is delivered by Sing London, a not for profit company who delivered Sing London in 2007.   Sing the Nation is supported by Paul Hamlyn Foundation, LOCOG and the Heritage Lottery Fund For further information please contact: Sameena Rizwi, Dylan Watkins or Sharon Hardwick at freud communications on 0203 003 6352/ 0203 003 6328/ 0203 003 6304 or email on firstname.surname@freud.com The London 2012 Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 100 or visit the website at www.london2012.com/  Find out the latest from London 2012 HQ on our blog http://blog.london2012.com