A total of 580 selected Torchbearers – of whom 332 have been named today – take part in a new version of the Paralympic Torch Relay which will involve Flames being lit in London, Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff.

The four Flames will be united at the Paralympic Flame Lighting Ceremony at Stoke Mandeville, the spiritual home of the Paralympic Movement, on August 28, and the 'unified' Flame will then be carried in a 24-hour relay to the Olympic Stadium for the Opening Ceremony on August 29.

Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff will stage their own Flame Festivals to coincide with the Lighting Ceremonies, which will take place respectively at City Hall on August 25, Inverleith Park on August 26 and Roald Dahl Plass on August 27.

Tim Rushby-Smith (pictured above, front row, centre on right), a freelance journalist who writes for The Times, among other British newspapers, was one of five nominated Torchbearers in a team from Hackney who were nominated through the BT public campaign for their dedication and long-term commitment to coaching a range of sports to aspiring disabled children.

"We all live in the Borough of Hackney and we share a passion for working towards more integration in sport and society in general," he told insideworldparasport, the Paralympic Clock behind him showing 106 days until the Opening Ceremony.

"My particular passion is coaching wheelchair tennis."

Also present was a team of people from around the United Kingdom who had been nominated through the Lloyds TSB public nomination campaign for their work in disability arts, and a team of parents and children connected with Stepping Stones Down Syndrome Support Group in Surrey who were nominated through the Sainsbury's campaign.

All three groups appearing today will play a part in carrying the Torch on its final journey from Stoke Mandeville, with each sharing the responsibility between them of a 750-metres stretch.

Rushby-Smith, who suffered an injury to his spinal cord in 2005, added: "Stoke Mandeville was where I did my rehabilitation afterwards, so on a personal note it is great to have that connection."

Sue Williams, an artist who has worked for many years on behalf of disabled people through the Arts Council for England and who has also worked on the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, told insideworldparasport: "I was quite shocked when I heard I had been nominated, and even more so when I learned I had been accepted.

"It's the chance of a lifetime."


Among those representing the Stepping Stone team was one of the co-founders, Emma Hall, a 39-year-old from Fleet in Hampshire.

"Almost seven years ago my daughter was born with Down syndrome which totally turned our world upside down," she writes on London2012.com.

"I loved reading the stories of other families but struggled to meet anyone in my local area.

"Shortly after...we realised that we could make a change to the level of support currently offered and Stepping Stones DS was born.

"We now support over 85 families from three counties and provide a range of recreational, social and developmental activities.

"We live and breathe inclusion and believe that our children should have the same rights and opportunities as any other child.

"In order for a child to reach their potential we need to support the whole family and this is the key to everything that we do.

"We hope that Stepping Stones DS makes a difference but it is the children that inspire everything that we do and keep teach us that we should never limit our dreams."

The majority of the Torchbearers announced today were successful through the public nomination campaigns run by BT, Lloyds TSB and Sainsbury's, as well as those chosen by the British Paralympic Association (BPA).


They all sought to find teams and individuals from across the UK that who have demonstrated the Paralympic values of courage, determination, equality and inspiration.

Sebastian Coe, chairman of London 2012, commented: "Thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate someone in one of the three campaigns.

"For the first time we get to hear some of the inspirational stories of the teams and individuals that have been selected to carry the Paralympic Flame.

"Whether they have been together for years or have been brought together around a common story, they have all demonstrated how they are living the Paralympic values of courage, determination, inspiration and equality."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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