One relay leads to another

In two days' time, with the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, the relay that has carried the Olympic Flame from the small town of Olympia, in Greece, all the way to the Olympic Stadium in London, will be drawing to a close. The enthusiasm that has welcomed the passage of the torch through the streets of the British capital will be renewed during the passage of the Paralympic Flame, which will be lit on August 28 at the Stoke Mandeville Stadium and, after a 24-hour relay, will reach London's Olympic Stadium on August 29 to kick-start the Paralympic Games. The flame, which will see the union of four different flames coming from London, Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh, will be carried by 580 torch-bearers, divided into groups of five athletes, travelling 87 miles. Once in London, the relay will pass through some of the city's most popular areas, including: Abbey Road, Greenwich, Regent Street, Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, Westminster, Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, Lambeth Bridge, Waterloo Bridge, Tower Bridge. Festivals will be held throughout the city to celebrate the passage of the torch.