London 2012 is only months away and the new look Southend Airport is set to play a large part in flying visitors in and out of the country.
Plus our own stretch of the seaside will be a part of the build up as the Olympic Torch pays a visit on July 6th at around midday. And there are major celebrations planned for when the most iconic symbol in sport passes through.
It will be driven from Rochford accompanied by a convoy of vehicles before meeting the first of the team of bearers who will carry the torch through Southend, with tens of thousands of people supporting and looking on.
31 specially selected Torchbearers will relay the torch 300 metres each along the route which starts at Rochford Road, down Prince Avenue, past the Civic Centre on Victoria Avenue and to Victoria Gateway. The procession will then make its way down Southend High Street and Pier Hill to the sea front and finally along to City Beach where it will trigger a full day of events.
These include 2,000 schoolchildren and members of a range of local Southend choirs singing a specially commissioned song for the event - 'Anthem'.
The torch will then pass the world famous Southend Pier, heading west towards Leigh and Hadleigh close to Hadleigh Castle – an Olympic venue for the Mountain Biking Event.
“The Olympic Flame will make a spectacular sight as it is carried down the High Street through cheering crowds and then down onto the seafront by the Torchbearers,” said Derek Jarvis, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council’s Executive Councillor for Culture and Tourism.
“We are currently putting the finishing touches to a huge celebration event being planned on the day and we want everyone in Southend to turn out and witness the Flame’s arrival.”
