Fu Ying, the Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom and double Olympic champion Kelly Holmes will be among the 80 torchbearers carrying the Olympic Flame across London on its way to Beijing on April 6.

Broadcaster Sir Trevor McDonald and actress Amara Karan will also run the one-day leg, as part of the worldwide Beijing Olympic Torch Relay.

Fu Ying said that she was glad to be involved in the event, starting at Wembley Stadium, site of the 1948 Olympic Games, and finishing at the O2 Arena at North Greenwich, which is to be one of the venues for the 2012 Games.

Large crowds are expected as the Olympic torch is carried through ten London boroughs.

The Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, said, ‘Following the outstanding success of the Athens Olympic Torch Relay in London in 2004. It is a great honor for our city to participate in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay and once again carry the Olympic spirit of friendship and cooperation between nations across the world.’

It also allows him to get some publicity for the 2012 games which will be held in London.

The Olympic Flame will go to 19 cities on five continents before returning to China and arriving in Beijing for the start of the 2008 Olympic Games on August 8.
Source: China Daily