Having been lit in Greece, the Olympic Flame arrives in the UK this Friday and will set off on a 70 day relay, reputed to be travelling within an hour of 95% of the UK population during the course of its journey. 

Representing peace, unity and friendship, it will be carried in total by 8,000 inspirational Torchbearers.

The first of these will be three times Olympic Gold Medallist Ben Ainslie, who will start the Relay at the Land's End landmark signpost at 7.08am on the 19th May thus beginning its epic journey across the length and breadth of the country, including trips to the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey.

Literally tens of thousands of people are expected to turn out onto the streets of Southend on July 6th to cheer on the 31 Torchbearers specially selected to run it through the town 300 metres at a time.  Heading down Prince Avenue, around Cuckoo Corner and along Victoria Avenue the route will go past the Civic Centre to Victoria Gateway. Pick your vantage point early, as it will then be relayed down Southend High Street and Pier Hill before continuing onto the seafront.

Finally the Torch will then be run to City Beach on Marine Parade, its arrival signifying the start of a day of entertainment and cultural events specially organised to mark this once in a lifetime occasion.

A highlight of the day promises to be the gathering of 2,000 local schoolchildren and members of Southend choirs performing a song called 'Anthem - Let Your Light Shine' which has been specially commissioned for the occasion. The piece has been written to allow for participation from a wide range of ages and abilities and draws on many different music genres, rhythms and styles to represent its global message, and has a memorable refrain which aims to encourage audience participation!

The day promises to be one of celebration and anticipation as the Torch leaves us to continue its journey to the Olympic Stadium, where it will arrive on the 27th July for the lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony, signifying the official start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

So mark the day on your calendar now, maybe get together with a few friends to organise a 'flaming good bash' or help the children make their very own Olympic Torches (amazing what you can do with some gold card and orange tissue paper!) and be confident that the sun WILL shine on our seaside that day!