Olympic torch to come to London

The Olympic torch will visit 22 cities around the world

The Olympic flame for the 2008 Beijing Games will come to London on 6 April next year.

Under the slogan "Light the Passion, Share the Dream", the flame will travel to 22 cities around the world as well as journeying through China.

And it will also be taken to the summit of Mount Everest.

"It is very exciting that once again London has been chosen to be part of this relay," said British Olympic Association boss Simon Clegg.

This is another opportunity to excite people of the Olympic movement BOA chief executive Simon Clegg

"We were involved in the 2004 Athens relay and it was the first time the Olympics flame had been back in this country since 1948.

"The calculation was that one million people across the day saw the torch first hand. It was a really memorable day.

"This time it has equal significance if not more because now we have won the bid and this is an important stepping stone on the road to 2012.

"We think we can do something really special. This is another opportunity to excite people of the Olympic movement."

Following with tradition the torch will be lit in Olympia in Greece on 31 March.

The route, which will be the longest in history, will then travel to Beijing, Almaty in Kazakhstan, Turkey's Istanbul and St Petersburg in Russia before arriving in London.

Featuring the theme "Journey of Harmony", the torch relay is centred around the silk road, which connected the East and the West for the first time in history, with 11 cities selected along this ancient route.

"I have no doubt the Beijing 2008 Olympic torch relay will leave extraordinary memories and create new dreams for people around the world," said International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge.