omg... got to touch the olympic flame today! awesome or what!

day 28 of the athens 2004 olympic torch relay saw london hosting the 23rd leg. the whirlwind international route passes through 34 cities over 36 days, uniting all five continents for the first time, with all previous summer games host cities being included (plus certain others of importance).

so 140 torchbearers took the olympic flame around 11 london boroughs, culminating in the olympic torch concert for 70000 in the mall in the evening with rod stewart and james brown.

we saw the flame in greenwich park, where three exchanges took place. noone famous unfortunately, all four torchbearers being from the pool selected by the gla or by sponsors coca-cola and samsung i guess. the gusty wind blew out the torches twice while in the park! i was thinking how awesome a photo it would be to capture me sticking my hand out with a lighter in front of an extinguished olympic flame... as well as wind, there was also light rain, but not enough to put local kids off from crowding round the torchbearers with banners and flags. cute. managed to grab hold of one torch, albeit momentarily, before she ran off again! hope the pics turn out good...

later in the afternoon, i decided to head to the mall anyway, despite the fact that i had missed the ballot for tickets last month. even if there was no way at all, at least i could still see some more of the flame in chinatown or piccadilly circus. actually ended up at admiralty arch, looking up the mall at the big screens erected down its length. the stage was at the palace end, with the mall packed with people. apparently, no umbrellas were allowed in (security precautions) even though it had been raining all day, but everyone was given a plastic rain cape, which was just as well, cuz it started to bucket down towards the close of the concert. heather smalls sydney 2000 anthem "proud" provided a neat finale.

food of the day:

kfc minifillet, 99p, limited period instore promotion

athens 2004 olympic torch relay - pass the flame, unite the world
the official website of the athens 2004 olympic and paralympic games

posted by Chas at 23:17
go ahead, roll the donut!