Olympic flame to visit Salisbury before 2012 Games

The Olympic flame will pass through Wiltshire as it tours the UK ahead of the London 2012 Games.

The torch is due to arrive in the UK from Greece on 18 May 2012 and its 70-day relay will start at Land's End, Cornwall.

It will visit Salisbury on 11 July and stop overnight. It is due to arrive in London the weekend before the start of the Games on 27 July.

A nomination process will be used to pick the 8,000 torch-bearers.

Details of the route will be announced next year but organisers have said that 95% of Britons will be within an hour's journey of seeing the torch.

'Evening event'

Susan Thorpe, Liberal Democrat leader of Salisbury City Council, said the visit was "such wonderful news" for the city.

"It's an opportunity to showcase Salisbury to the world.

"The torch will arrive in the late afternoon - although we don't have details of the route yet - and then there will be an evening event.

"We'll be working with local community organisations to put on something Salisbury can be really proud of.

"It really is very early days... but we want it to showcase the talent the city has.

"This is a one-off unique event for Salisbury," Ms Thorpe added.