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Poole Flies The Flag For London 2012

As the spectacle of the Beijing Games comes to a close, the London 2012 Handover flag, heralding the countdown to the London Olympics , was raised at Sandbanks beach on Sunday 24 August.

In a celebration mirroring events taking place in Beijing, a symbolic gesture to mark the Olympic handover, saw Chinese dragon dancers hand the flag to Mayor of Poole, Cllr Joyce Lavender. Events celebrating the handover took place in London and in towns all over the UK.

Sandbanks has been named as a potential training ground for athletes preparing for the beach volleyball events in 2012 and the flag was raised by Matthew Ware aged 17 and Luke Gray, 16, who have both been identified as Olympic hopefuls for 2012. Parkstone based Matthew is currently sixth in the junior boys table tennis rankings, and Luke is a cyclo cross champion currently ranked second in the country.

Events began with a display on Sandbanks promenade by Poole-based 'Dragon of the South' and a beach volleyball display by Wessex Volleyball followed prior to the official flag handover.

The Mayor announced the Countdown to London 2012 once the flag was raised.

Cllr Peter Adams, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture, Borough of Poole, said: "With Olympic fever gripping the nation and Team GB basking in medal glory we are all eagerly anticipating the time when Poole will play a key role in the next Olympics. We all wish our young hopefuls well for their chances to bring back more Gold to Poole in 2012."

Hayley Pope, Communications Co-ordinator
Tel: 01202 633060