Scouts to light mountain flames for Paralympics

Scouts will light flames on the highest mountains in each of the four home nations of Britain next week to spark the torch relay for the London Paralympics, organisers said Wednesday.

Members of the youth movement will spark flints on rocks on Scafell Pike in England, Snowdon in Wales, Ben Nevis in Scotland and Slieve Donard in Northern Ireland to create the flames on August 22, organisers LOCOG said.

The flames will travel to the four national capitals for a day of celebrations and then on to Stoke Mandeville in southern England, the spiritual home of the Paralympic movement, on August 28.

They will be united at Stoke Mandeville to create the London 2012 Paralympic Flame during a special ceremony, before a 24-hour torch relay to the Olympic Stadium in London for the start of the Games bringing together disabled athletes from across the world on August 29.

"We have created a unique identity for the Paralympic torch relay which will be a celebration of courage, determination, inspiration and equality that every Paralympian represents," London Olympics chief Sebastian Coe said.

"By creating the four flames through human endeavour at the four highest peaks in the UK we will ensure that the spirit of each home nation is represented in the Paralympic flame."

Coe urged Britons to attend the events in a bid to repeat the success of the Olympic torch relay, which saw 13 million people line the streets around Britain over the course of 70 days.

Both disabled and non-disabled Scouts will be involved in the Paralympic flame-lighting ceremony on the four mountains.

The Paralympics relay will involve 580 torchbearers working in teams of five on the 92-mile (148-kilometre) route. They include disabled athletes and volunteers who have helped train them.

They will pass landmarks including London Zoo, Lord's Cricket Ground and Abbey Road in northwest London made famous by The Beatles.

Olympics minister Jeremy Hunt said Britain was hoping to stage the "best ever Paralympic Games" after a successful Olympics.

"The UK is the birthplace of the Paralympic movement and London's Games will show the world how just amazing and inspiring elite Paralympic sport can be," he said.

Organisers have sold more than 2.1 million tickets for the London 2012 Paralympics, beating the previous record set at the 2008 edition in Beijing.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/scouts-light-mountain-flames-paralympics-130214591.html

west virginia rob roy gaslight justin timberlake michael dyer bachmann bachmann