Dress rehearsal for London 2012 Torch Relay

A full dress rehearsal that will test the operations for the Olympic Torch Relay will take place on Friday, April 20. LOCOG is keen to test the convoy, crew and communications procedures in advance of the 70-day relay, and so a team will travel along from Leicester to Peterborough.

The Leicester to Peterborough stretch has been selected as it represents a typical but technically challenging day on the relay. The 80-mile route takes in both rural and urban locations and allows every element of the relay to be tested including convoy splits – when a Torchbearer splits from the convoy to take in a route the convoy cannot access – and alternate modes of transport, including a train and a rescue boat.

The test convoy will travel through Quorn, Loughborough, Hoton, Wymeswold, Asfordby, Melton Mowbray, Langham, Oakham,  Uppingham and Stamford. Details of the exact vehicle numbers and roads to be taken will be released by LOCOG and the host local authorities in March to ensure the host communities have plenty of time to plan and make arrangements for the day.

Procedures to be tested on the day will include timings, convoy movement, radio communications, the collection and drop off of Torchbearers, route markings, traffic management and security operations. The rehearsal is the culmination of a series of operational relay tests, which have already taken place. These have focused on a range of areas including torch performance, hotel operations and the vehicle convoy.

The dress rehearsal will involve participants from the Royal College of the Blind, Loughborough College and Leicester, De Montfort, Loughborough and Northampton universities who will carry unlit torches.