Paralympic Cauldron Lit In Trafalgar Square

Lindsey
By Lindsey Last edited 139 months ago
Paralympic Cauldron Lit In Trafalgar Square

Actor Eddie Marsan holds the Paralympic Flame inside the Royal Opera House in London.

You had to be up early this morning to catch the arrival of the Paralympic flame in London.

Claire Lomas — who was paralysed in a riding accident but has since done incredible things, including having a baby and walking the London Marathon — lit a cauldron on the north terrace of Trafalgar Square at 8am, flanked by Boris, Seb and the Scouts who bought it down from Scafell Pike. Watch the video on the BBC.

Beforehand, actor Eddie Marsan ran a Paralympic Torch around the Royal Opera House at 6.45am — he was the bloke who played Dr Ludwig Guttmann, pioneering neurologist and founder of the Stoke Mandeville Games in BBC drama The Best of Men.

You may still catch a glimpse of the Paralympic Torch around town today as it will be carried through Notting Hill at 11am this morning with a mini Carnival parade behind it and then taken to the Houses of Parliament at 1pm and for a ride on the DLR from Mudchute to South Quay at 3pm.

Evening celebrations take place not in Trafalgar Square as expected, but up the A40 at Northala Fields where performance group Red Earth will transform the otherworldly landscape with sound and fire to mark the journey of the Paralympic Flame upwards towards the heavens from 8pm. We like Northala Fields.

The Tower Bridge Olympic rings will be replaced by the Paralympic symbol Agitos in time for the the Torch relay proper which enters London on Wednesday 29 August - check out our post on where to see the Paralympic flame.

Last Updated 24 August 2012