Who Will Run With The Olympic Torch? The Doctor That’s Who!
The 2012 Olympic Games are being held in London England this time around. As the Olympic Torch makes it’s way to the stadium it will pass through Cardiff on the mornig of May 26th at Approximately 6:20 AM GMT. Eveyones favorite Time Lord, played by human Matt Smith, will take up the Torch at that time for its first leg through Cardiff.
BBC Press Release:
We can confirm that Matt Smith will be part of the relay team carrying the iconic Olympic Torch during its journey from the Temple of Hera to London’s Olympic Stadium.
Matt has been given the honour of being named the lead runner for Saturday, 26 May. This means he is the first to carry the Torch on that day and will convey the Olympic Flame through part of Cardiff, close to BBC Wales’ Roath Lock Studios – the home of Doctor Who.
Matt was delighted to take part in this world-famous tradition. ‘To carry the Torch is an honour, one I thought I’d never get,’ he told us, adding, ‘I’m very excited!’
The traditional lighting ceremony took place in Olympia, Greece on 10 May, 2012 and the Torch arrived in Britain nine days later. The UK leg of its journey began in Land’s End and it will blaze into Wales later today.
Matt’s run will begin at approximately 6.20am by the Norwegian Church Arts Centre in Cardiff (details below). He will wear the official Torch Bearer uniform and carry the Flame for a short leg of the journey before handing it to the next runner on the steps of the Senedd, often known as the Welsh Assembly Building.
If you can make it to Cardiff to cheer Matt on, we’ll hopefully see you on Saturday morning as we’ll be there, covering the whole event.
The Flame will eventually reach the Olympic Stadium where it will light a cauldron symbolising the start of the Games. The BBC’s Olympic site has a wealth of material about the Torch, both in terms of history and its road to the 2012 Games. You can also visit the site to see Matt’s leg of the journey streamed live on Saturday morning.
Matt’s part of the relay begins at approximately 6.20am on Saturday, 26 May at the Norwegian Church Arts Centre, Harbour Drive, Cardiff Bay, CF10 4PA. He will hand over the Olympic Flame at the Senedd, National Assembly Building, Cardiff, CF99 1NA.
We hope to see you for this moment of history in the making.
I plan on tuning in to watch the streaming feed, at least if it viewable outside the UK, which it should be since the Olympics are multinational.
Good Luck Matt, I hope for good weather in Cardiff for your historic run!
*****UPDATE*****
Apparently someone decided not to stream Matt Smith’s leg of the Olympic Torch Run. Matt was runner #1, and for some reason they decided it would make more sense to start the live stream with runner #3.
I’ll post a more information on this later once I have more info myself. Regardless of poor planning or miscommunication, my congratulations go out to Matt Smith for his Olympic Torch Run! I only wish that I and other Doctor Who fans around the world would have been allowed to be a part of that moment. I’m sure YouTube will be full of videos of Matt’s run in a few hours, and I will post links to some and upload some photos later today.
*****UPDATE 2*****
Matt was apparently filmed by another crew and that video will be available later today.
