Torch designer backs town’s bid to host 2012 relay parade

Reg Osgerby, 89, whose grandson Jay is designing the torch for the London Olympics, said he would be “delighted” to see the torch paraded through his home town.

Beverley Town Council has begun a petition to gather public support for its bid.

Town mayor, Councillor Peter Astell, said: “This is a great boost to our bid. Mr Osgerby is very proud of the part his grandson has played in designing the torch. As a Beverlonian it would be a very proud moment for him to see the product of his grandson’s efforts on display in the town.”

The torch will “shine a light” across Yorkshire when it is carried through the region in the build-up to the 2012 Games in London, organisers have said.

The flame, the enduring symbol of the Olympic Games, will be carried through Hull, York, Leeds, Sheffield, and Cleethorpes in North East Lincolnshire on an 8,000-mile, 70-day relay around the UK before arriving in the capital for the opening ceremony on July 27 next year.

The torch – which represents peace, unity and friendship – will be lit in Olympia, Greece, in a traditional ceremony and taken on a short relay in the country before arriving in the UK on May 18, next year, when the journey will begin at Land’s End.

The relay aims to go within an hour’s travel time of 95 per cent of the population, and on most days will travel for 12 hours each day ending in an evening celebration event.