Flying the Olympic Flag : 24 August
Flying the Olympic Flag : 24 August 2008
On Sunday 24th August 2008 the Beijing Olympic Games will draw to a close and the Olympic Flag will be handed over to London and the United Kingdom in readiness for 2012.
Southampton will be one of hundreds of towns and cities across the U.K. that will be marking the occasion by raising the specially designed 2012 Olympic Flag.
Southampton will be Flying the Flag as the focal point of a colourful and exciting public event starting at 2pm on Sunday 24 August on the Civic Centre forecourt.
Southampton has more reason than most to celebrate this momentous occasion.
In 1908 London hosted the Olympic Games and the “motorboating” events, the predecessors of the modern power boat races, were held on Southampton water. A hundred years later Qingdao, Southampton’s sister city in China, is hosting the Olympic Sailing Regatta so the link continues.
To mark the centenary the flag will go on a journey through Southampton travelling by powerboat with British Champion Shelly Jory who will pass it on to a group of rowing boats, each representing one of the local clubs on the Itchen. The flag will be rowed to Southampton Water Activities Centre (SWAC) where it will be handed over to cyclists. They will then take the flag to the Quays diving complex where runners will complete the journey to the Civic Centre.
The event will have demonstrations including
• Trampolining
• Martial arts
• Public sports competitions with rowing and biking
• Drummers
• Live Music
• Chinese Lion Dancers
• Visits by Olympians and Paralympians
At 2.30pm approx. the Mayor of Southampton, who will have returned from the Olympic sailing at Qingdao a few days earlier will receive the Olympic flag from a member of the Chinese community, accompanied by children of different ethnic backgrounds and nationalities. It will then be flown in front of the Civic Centre with the flags of the ten countries who have hosted the recent Olympic Games.
All the cities across the U.K. are planning to raise their flags at the same time to coincide with the handover in Beijing. This can be seen live, as it happens, on a large screen sited at the Civic Centre.
After the flag has been raised the festivities will continue until 3.30pm.
Location
The event will take place in the Civic Centre forecourt.
If you are using Sat Nav, the post code is SO14 7LP
A map indicating the location of the Civic Centre and the route of the Parade can be viewed below:
View Larger Map
Please use City Centre Car Parks or click on the travel line link on the right hand side for public transport options.
For further details contact Event Management, Southampton City Council on email: events@southampton.gov.uk or telephone: 023 8083 2525
Last updated: 6 August 2008
