Flag ceremony to mark Olympic handover

12:18pm Sunday 24th August 2008

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A FLAG to celebrate the handover of the Olympic games from Beijing to London will be raised this afternoon.

High Wycombe will be one of 500 locations around Great Britain and embassies abroad to simultaneously raise a handover banner to signal that London has become the new official host city.

A Chinese Lion display, starting at High Wycombe Library around 3pm, will be followed by a procession through the town centre ending at Wycombe Distric Council's offices.

Athletes from Marlow Rowing Club, Micklefield Judo club, Handy Cross Runners, Bourne End Buffaloes and Battledore Badminton Club will carry the flag to the ceremony.

Cllr Roger Wilson, Chairman of WDC said: "The Wycombe district is home to a wealth of sporting talent, both young and old.

"As the sun sets on Great Britain's most successful Olympics to date in Beijing, we now look forward to hosting the next Olympic Games and achieving the same feat with the wealth of talent that is available."

Chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee, Sebastian Coe,said: "When the Mayor of London accepts the Olympic Flag on 24th August, the eyes of the world will turn to London and the UK as the next Summer Host City.

"It is a very important and exciting moment for us, and we want as many people as possible to join in the Handover celebrations.

"We are delighted that so many local authorities share our excitement and are proudly displaying the Olympic Handover Flag to mark this very special moment on our journey to 2012."