City set to unveil Olympic flag
22/08/08
The City of Aberdeen is set to join in the Olympic Handover celebrations organised by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) on Sunday [24 August] by unfurling a specially designed flag at 2.30pm outside the Beach Leisure Centre, Promenade.
Councillor Jennifer Stewart, council spokeswoman for sports, will present the Olympic Handover flag to Council leader Kate Dean. Lord Provost of Aberdeenshire Council Bill Howatson will be there to see the flag being unfurled. Young athletes from Aberdeen City and Shire will also attend the event.
This will coincide with the moment the Mayor of Beijing symbolically hands the Olympic flag to Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London. This will officially mark the start of London’s tenure as the next Summer Olympic host city.
More than 400 flags will be raised the length of the UK in local government, army barracks and Whitehall buildings. Outside the UK the flag will be flown at overseas missions from Vancouver to Tokyo.
Mrs Dean said: “Team GB’s success in Beijing has meant everyone is talking about the Olympics. It is particularly exciting because London will host the Games in 2012.
“And judging by the up and coming local talent from Aberdeen City and Shire hopefully we will see a number of our athletes representing GB in 2012.”
Mr Howatson said: “The north-east has produced a number of rising stars in athletes such as Hannah Miley, Alistair McGregor and Jonathan Hammond who will be making their way home, proud of their performance and looking forward to future success.”
London 2012 Organising Committee Chairman Lord Sebastian Coe said: “When the Mayor of London accepts the Olympic Flag on 24 August, the eyes of the world will turn to London and the UK.
“It is a very important and an exciting moment of us and we want as many people as possible to join in the Handover celebrations. We are delighted so many authorities share our excitement and are proudly displaying the Handover flag to mark this very special moment on our journey to 2012.”
If you have any queries regarding this, or any other news story, please contact Aberdeen City Council on: 01224 522000.
