Coe confusion over who will light flame

London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe insists the choice of the person to light the Olympic flame on Friday is not his call.
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd Jul 2012, 10:28 BST

Coe says he has an input but that the final decision will be taken by the opening ceremony creative teams headed by Danny Boyle and Stephen Bayley.

That appears slightly at odds with British Olympic Association chief executive Andy Hunt, who earlier stated that it would be a joint decision between the BOA and London 2012.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Coe also insisted that despite a report last week he is not pushing the claims of his best friend Daley Thompson over Sir Steve Redgrave.

He said: “It will be a judgment made by our creative teams led by Danny Boyle and Stephen Bayley, and of course I will be a part of that but I have been very, very clear that it is not my call.

“I am certainly not pushing one person over another, and it still has not been decided, absolutely not.”

The identity of the person is supposed to be kept a secret until the actual moment of the flame-lighting.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Other possible people for the lighting include Dame Kelly Holmes, Roger Bannister or even David Beckham. The creative teams have even discussed whether the person needs to be well-known or should be symbolic – for example a child from the East End of London.

Coe added: “Do I have a view on this personally or privately? Yes of course.

“Have I asked our creative teams to get their minds around this? Yes I have. Have we made a judgement about this? No, we haven’t.

“Is Daley Thompson a really close friend of mine? Yes he is, it’s probably not the best-kept secret that he’s probably my closest friend, and do I get on well with Steve Redgrave? Yes I do.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“This is not that complicated nor conspiratorial. This isn’t an exact science. I have said all along it may be very obvious – but it may not be.”

The Olympic Torch reached new heights yesterday as it was held aloft on the London Eye.

Amelia Hempleman-Adams, who became the youngest person to ski to the South Pole when aged just 16, grinned from ear to ear as she held the flame on top of a capsule on board the giant wheel. She said: “It was amazing to look out and see the whole of London.”