Hundreds of people have joined a campaign to bring the Olympic torch to Leicester
Hundreds of people have joined a campaign to bring the Olympic torch to the city.
Petitions are being signed calling for the symbolic flame to pass through Leicester in 2012 in the build-up to the London Games.
The Torch Relay will take the Olympic spirit to all corners of the UK before the opening ceremony.
More than 500 signatures have been collected across the city so far and many more are expected.
All the city’s schools will receive petitions and campaign posters this week.
Community member Councillor Rory Palmer, the City Council’s Olympic envoy, is leading the campaign.
He said: “I am planning to go to London in the New Year to deliver the petition to the Olympics Minister directly.”
“I genuinely believe that this campaign can make a difference and that we will bring the Olympic flame to the streets of our city.
“I want all our communities in Leicester to back this campaign,” he said.
Councillor Gary Hunt, the Lord Mayor of Leicester, said “To get the Olympic torch to Leicester will be a fitting tribute to Leicester’s achievements and true ideals of the Olympics.”
Steve Humphries, the City Council’s Sports Marketing Manager, who led Leicester’s successful bid for the 2009 Special Olympics said: “The City of Leicester has a fine sporting heritage and a passion for sport that is second to none.”
To download a petition go to www.leicester.gov.uk/rorypalmer
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