Mountaineering legend Sir Chris Bonington will unfurl a flag on the top of Scafell Pike on Sunday to mark the handover of the Olympics from China to the UK.
Scafell Pike summit
He will be joined on the summit of England’s highest peak by 72-year-old fellrunner Jos Naylor and 16-year-old long-distance runner Laura Park. The young runner, from Maryport, Cumbria, hopes to be in the 2012 team when London hosts the Games.
The ceremony will take place at 2.30pm, to coincide with the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
Sir Chris, who lives in Cumbria, said: "Mountaineering was one of the original sports identified by Baron de Coubertin for inclusion when the modern Olympics began in 1896, so this a particularly fitting event to mark an exciting four years for British sport.
“The whole of the world's eyes will be on London in four years time, so we want to kick off our Olympic adventure in style in Cumbria."
Wasdale shepherd Jos Naylor, a legend himself in fellrunning circles, said: “It's always a pleasure to be at the top of Scafell Pike as it's got one of the greatest viewpoints in the country and is one of the most visited spots in the Lakes.
“But this Sunday will be a particular pleasure as we'll be flying the flag for Britain. Hopefully the publicity that's generated around the Olympics will encourage more and more young people to take up sport.”
Members of the region’s mountain rescue teams will also make the journey to the summit. Richard Warren, Chairman of the Lake District Mountain Rescue Association, said: “Although not a sport, the sheer drive and determination required by volunteer mountain rescuers to keep going when the body is saying stop and rest is not dissimilar to that of an athlete. As a charity, we were very pleased to be involved in the planning of this event and look forward to an incident-free day."
Elsewhere throughout Britain, ceremonies will also take place to mark the handover. Some of the more surreal offerings include David Beckham kicking a football from a double-decker bus, a mass singalong of the Bee Gees’ How Deep Is Your Love and Jimmy Page teaming up with Leona Lewis for a version of Whole Lotta Love.
OMR
22 August 2008Not that it really matters, but if the Olympics are meant to be the UK Olympics, surely any handover should be on the UK's highest peak rather than England's?
Guest
22 August 2008Scafell Pike? China had Everest. National pride is at stake - Quick conquer some small impoverished nation with a high hill and annex it.
The Piglit
23 August 2008I really don't get this at all - unless of course mountain rescue is set to become a competitive sport...............!
Guest
24 August 2008These comments are really not very nice! Chris and Jos are two of our most respected British hero's. Yes, perhaps this would have been better to hold the handover on the UK's highest mountain, but hey the fact that these guys are getting involved is very positive for our country as a whole. China (Tibet) have got Everest which is very impressive, but our country is impressive in every inch! So let's look at the positives people instead of the negatives!!
OMR
25 August 2008G'wa an' nae be sae po faced. First sentence said it all: "Not that it matters...". My comment was just a tongue in cheek pleasantery; number 2 I read as being similarly humorous in intent, and number 3 was either also in fun or genuinely puzzled [smiley=wink]. You're wrong in any case about our country being impressive in every inch: there's a part of Fife I've seen with my own eyes which is several square feet and perhaps unbelievable, but certainoly not impressive. It's called my son's bedroom. [smiley=laugh]. But let's not fight folks - there are plenty forums to do that in.
The Piglit
25 August 2008Yes! Let's start a fight in the Grough forum now!
Guest
26 August 2008Many town's and cities decided to do something special to mark the closing ceremony for the Games. Flying a flag from Scafell Pike was just one of the many events that the people of Cumbria decided to do to mark the event. I think it was a fantastic idea-well done!!
wiggy
01 September 2008[color=#ff00a8]I would love to see fell running as an olympic sport. The ultimate test of endurance and technical skill, it would be a really Big G to win.[/color]