04/04/2008 09:24:00
The Olympic torch relay will reach London this Sunday, with police on full alert for disruption by people protesting against the Chinese government's actions in Tibet.
The torch will make its way through ten London boroughs, from Wembley to Greenwich, with tens of thousands of people expected to attend.
British athletes taking part in the torch relay include Olympic gold medallists Dame Kelly Holmes and Sir Steve Regrave, as well as Tim Henman, England cricketer Kevin Pietersen and former Scottish rugby player Kenny Logan.
However, many high profile figures that were invited to be part of the torch relay have recently pulled out of the celebrations, in protest against the recent violence in Tibet.
Disabled comedian Francesca Martinez and the BBC deputy director general Mark Byford have both backed out of carrying the torch on Sunday.
In addition, several protest groups, including Free Tibet and Free Burma, have expressed a desire to protest at the event. As a result, London's Metropolitan police force is staging a £1 million security operation to ensure that the torch is able to travel the 31 miles from Wembley Stadium to the O2 Arena without interruption.
Commander Bob Broadhurst of the Met Police said yesterday: "Our responsibility is to ensure the safety, security and safe passage of the torch.
"We will facilitate all lawful protests. Groups who come to us and say they want to protest, we will accommodate them."
The Olympic torch began its journey this year in Beijing, before travelling on to Almaty in Kazakhstan, Istanbul, St Petersburg and now London. After Sunday, it will travel on to Paris, San Francisco, and Buenos Aires before visiting Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and travelling across Asia and Australia, and finally back to Beijing.