The Olympic Torch will be coming through Bury next year on Saturday 23 June as it heads for the London 2012 Games.

Torchbearers will carry the Olympic Flame through Bury, Whitefield and Prestwich as it travels from Rochdale to Manchester. All residents are invited to share in the excitement of the relay by welcoming the flame and celebrating the torchbearers’ achievements.

Bury is one of over 1,000 villages, towns and cities announced by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) through which the Olympic Flame will be carried by Torchbearers during the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay which is presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung. LOCOG has worked closely with representatives from a number of sectors in the North West to devise the route.

Councillor Mike Connolly, leader of Bury Council, said: “I am thrilled that Bury will be able to welcome and see the Olympic Flame on Saturday 23 June and witness the spectacle of the Olympic Torch Relay. It will provide a chance for the wider communities of Bury to help celebrate and share the Olympic spirit and mark the countdown to the start of the Games.  This is our opportunity to shine a light on the communities who will come to welcome the flame and support members of the community who have been chosen to run with the Olympic Flame.”

On the same weekend, Bury will be hosting the International Youth Sports Festival where hundreds of young people from twinned towns will participate in a four-day sports and cultural celebration. These young people and the wider community will now also get the opportunity to witness the Olympic Flame. Confirmed so far are teams from Angouleme and Tulle in France, Dueville in Italy, Lousada in Portugal, Schorndorf in Germany and Smolensk in Russia.

Sebastian Coe, chair of LOCOG, said: “We are thrilled to confirm that Bury will act as host location for the Olympic Flame, extending an invitation to people in Bury to welcome the Olympic Torch Relay during its journey around the UK. This is the UK’s moment to shine and I want to encourage people across Bury to start planning how they can be part of this once in a lifetime opportunity and show their support for the inspirational Torchbearers chosen to carry the Olympic Flame as we count down to the start of the Olympic Games.”

The 70-day Olympic Torch Relay will start at Land’s End, Cornwall on the morning of 19 May 2012. On leaving Land’s End, the Olympic Flame will travel an estimated 8,000 miles around the UK giving thousands of communities and individuals their moment to shine as the Olympic Flame comes to a place near them.

In announcing the villages, towns and cities LOCOG has realised the aspiration of taking the Olympic Flame to within an hour’s journey time of 95% of the population. In fact, over 95% of the population will be within just ten miles of the Olympic Flame next summer.

The street-by-street detail of the route will be confirmed next year. People are invited to view the interactive map at www.london2012.com/olympictorchrelaymap to find their nearest community through which the Olympic Flame will be carried.

On the final day of the Olympic Torch Relay, it is LOCOG’s intention that the Olympic Flame will travel down the River Thames as it makes its way to the Olympic Stadium on 27 July 2012 for the lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony, signifying the official start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The Olympic Flame will be carried across the UK by 8,000 inspirational Torchbearers each of whom will have a story of personal achievement and/or contribution to the local community. In December this year, successful nominees will be contacted with a conditional offer and final Torchbearer places will start to be confirmed from February 2012 onwards.

Today LOCOG launches two new public participation programmes. The ‘Local Leaders’ initiative is an invitation to people to take the 2012 Games into their community and create their own celebrations next year, for the Olympic Torch Relay and other key moments during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. People are encouraged to sign up to the Local Leader programme at www.london2012.com/localleaders to receive further information on a range of themed celebration ideas focusing on the Opening Ceremony evening, gardening, quizzes and barbecues and be in the front row to receive free London 2012 event materials to support events.

Also launched today is the ‘Get Set for the Olympic Torch Relay’ education resource, available to all schools registered with Get Set, London 2012’s official education programme. The aim of the resource is to provide schools with cross-curricular resources aimed at teachers working with 3 to 16 year olds to aid learning around history of Olympic Torch Relays, the design of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay and the Torch itself. A further education resource will launch next year to encourage schools to plan a welcome for the Olympic Flame and show support for the Torchbearers.

Lloyds TSB, official Education Partner of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, have launched their Flame Followers schools programme which complements the Get Set resources, and gives schools once-in-a-lifetime opportunities be right at the heart of the excitement and celebrations of the Relay.