Flying the flag for Medway
A flag relay featuring Medway’s sporting stars past, present and future celebrated the official start of London’s reign as Olympic host city on Sunday.
A host of our young world-class athletes joined 1964 Olympic silver medallist Paul Nihill MBE to process a commemorative London 2012 flag through Rochester as part of nationwide celebrations to mark the official Games handover.
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As Mayor of London Boris Johnson received the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony in Beijing, Medway’s flag began its journey at the Royal Engineers Boat Operation unit at Upnor. Two Army boat crews paraded the flag past two of Medway’s sailing clubs in honour of Team GBs successes in sailing before making their way along the River Medway to Rochester Pier. |
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Crowds of spectators watched on as the flag was then handed over to a succession of Medway’s elite athletes who carried it along the Esplanade and up into Rochester Castle Gardens.
Among those to carry the flag were England boxing captain and Medway Young Sports Personality of the Year, Jordan Dennis, GB youth athleteics captain Michael Baker and four-time Special Olympic medallist Victoria Loftus.
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Representatives from two of Medway’s elite sports facilities hoping to host Olympic teams – Jumpers Rebound Centre and the Howard Table Tennis Centre - joined in with the parade. The final lucky flag bearer was Roy Gladdish from Allhallows, who won the chance to take part in the relay in a competition run with the Medway Messenger. |
The flag, which carried a special version of the London 2012 logo, was then taken to the top of Rochester Castle and hoisted by the Mayor of Medway, Cllr David Carr, accompanied by a fanfare and rapturous applause.
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The ceremonial raising took place specifically at 14:33 because there were 1,433 days to go exactly until the start of the London Olympic Games. Cllr Carr said: “I’m here today to celebrate the fantastic success of the Great Britain team in Beijing and to celebrate London become the host city for 2012. "But most importantly we're here to celebrate the exciting plans here in Medway as we countdown to the Olympics.” |
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Paul Nihill, who was the first British athlete to compete in four consecutive Olympic Games, added: “The Olympics is the biggest show on earth and it’s coming to London. It’s very exciting for and I was proud to be a part of Medway’s celebration alongside the young people who will be looking to take part in 2012.”
The event also featured a performance by the North Kent Jazz Orchestra and tied in with the Going for Gold exhibition at Rochester’s Guildhall Museum, which celebrates Medway’s sporting heritage and future ambitions as we count down to 2012.
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