2012 Torch Lighting; Sochi Broadcasters; Tokyo 2020 Sports Director

2012 Torch Lighting Details

New details are emerging about how the Olympic Flame will be lit ahead of its May 18 arrival in the U.K.

In a Wednesday statement, LOCOG confirmed that the Hellenic Olympic Committee will light the flame May 10 using the sun’s rays at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece, the ancient and traditional setting of the Games.

The ceremony will last an hour before the flame will then go on an 8-day relay around Greece, arriving at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens on May 17 for the official Olympic Flame handover ceremony.

Following another hour-long ceremony, the flame will be handed over to a representative from London 2012 to make its journey to the U.K.

British Airways, the official airline partner of London 2012, will carry the Olympic Flame on board flight ‘BA2012’ – a gold-liveried aircraft –from Athens into the U.K. on May 18. The specially chartered Airbus will be allowed to carry the ceremonial flame subject to approval from the Civil Aviation Authority.

For safety reasons, the flame will travel in a ceremonial lantern that is secured in a specially designed cradle that will be firmly secured to its seat on the plane. The lantern is designed so the Olympic Flame can burn safely for up to 30 hours.

The flame will land at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall, close to Land’s End – the starting point for the Torch Relay around the U.K.

"It gives me great pleasure to confirm 10 May as the Flame lighting date and RNAS Culdrose as the Olympic Flame’s arrival point into the UK," said LOCOG chair Sebastian Coe.

"My team is looking forward to working with the Hellenic Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Defence and our commercial partners to create exciting events to mark the Flame’s Greek provenance and its arrival to our shores."

New Roles for Paralympics GB

Paralympics GB has strengthened its Games-time team by appointing a new deputy chef de mission operations to aid current chef de mission Craig Hunter.

With just seven months to go until the Paralympic event in London, Ann Hogbin will bring experience from her role as CEO of Commonwealth Games England to help the team achieve success this summer.

"To be part of the team behind the team at a home Games is something that I experienced in Manchester and I know how special it is," Hogbin said in reference to the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

She will join Penny Briscoe, deputy chef de mission performance, and Caroline Searle, chief press officer, as the key support staff in the Village working to Hunter.

Para-Dressage Qualification Finished

A total of 23 nations are now qualified for the Para-Dressage event of the London Games.

Competing for a total of 11 medals across the event from August 30 to September 4 will be teams who ranked highly enough up to Tuesday's qualification deadline.

Great Britain, Germany and Denmark qualified by finishing first through third at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in 2010.

The other teams qualifying through the Para-Equestrian team ranking list and regional distribution of teams are from USA, Netherlands, Brazil, Ireland, Italy, Belgium, South Africa, Mexico, Singapore, Australia, France, New Zealand, Norway, Finland, Bermuda, Argentina, Japan, Hong Kong and Austria.

The three remaining qualification slots will be allocated by Bipartite Commission Invitation issued by the International Paralympic Committee and the FEI. These final qualifications will be announced April 9.

Sochi Broadcasters Meet

Around 100 representatives of Olympic broadcasters met Wednesday in Sochi for the first International Meeting of Broadcasters.

Representatives of SKY ITALIA, ATV (Austria), ORF (Austria), ARD/ZDF (Germany), FT2/FT3 (France), NBC Olympics (USA), Japanese Consortium and other broadcasters participated in the event. Dmitry Kozak, deputy prime minister of Russia, and Manolo Romero, head of the Olympic Broadcasting Service, opened the meeting.

"The broadcasters are true members of the Olympic Movement as the Games bring together an audience that is one of the largest in the world," Kozak said. "Long ago the Games ceased to be only a spectator sports celebration and became also a massive television event. The interest that more and more people display towards the Games and the Olympic values and ideals depends directly on the effective work of sports journalists and the producers of the Games' Opening and Closing Ceremonies, as well as on the TV picture quality."

The second International Meeting of Broadcasters is scheduled for 2013.

Tokyo Sports Director

Olympic champion Yuko Arakida will serve as sports director for the Tokyo 2020 bid.

Arakida won gold in women’s volleyball at the 1976 Olympics and 1974 world championships.

"I have long held the utmost respect for the Olympic Movement," she said in a statement.

"I quickly realised that the Olympics is no ordinary event: it is a special celebration,where not only athletes, but the entire world can come together. I will communicate with the International Federations to the fullest extent in order to understand their needs, ultimately allowing me to better plan and implement ideas for Tokyo 2020."

She has an extensive background working with the Japanese Olympic Committee and Olympic Council of Asia.

What's Ahead ...

Be sure to check out Pin Points, publishing Thursday at 12 a.m. EST, 5 a.m. GMT.

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Written by Ed Hula III.

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