The excitement is on with only 72 days to go before the London Olympics 2012 kicks off. The sports star who will bring the Olympic Flame from Athens back to Britain has been confirmed as none other than David Beckham. Ironically, David Beckham was born and raised in East London, where the Summers games will be held.


Beckham, who played a key role in the delegation that helped bring the Olympics to London successfully in 2005, will be the torchbearer and will bring the flame back from the Olympic Flame Handover Ceremony in Athens, Greece, scheduled for May 17 at the Panathenaic Stadium.


Other officials to join the ceremony are British Olympic Association President and LOCOG Board Member HRH The Princess Royal, Chair of LOCOG Sebastian Coe, Minister for Sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson and Mayor of London Boris Johnson. The torch will be carried on a flight after the ceremony and set out on a 70-day Olympic Torch Relay.


London 2012 chairman Lord Coe said: "We wanted to involve young people from across the UK in bringing home the Olympic Flame.Their stories of personal achievement and contribution to sport echo the 8,000 inspiring Torchbearer stories that will be shared from this weekend and over the next 10 weeks in the build up to the start of the Games."


8,000 people are expected to carry the torch in the relay - which will begin in Cornwall, England and reach the Shetland Islands. The flame will then return to east London's Olympic Stadium and the opening of the Games on July 27.


The London Olympics 2012 said in a statement: "Together with our Presenting Partners Coca Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung, London 2012 has found 8,000 truly inspirational people from across the UK to carry the Olympic Flame - a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience."

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