The route the Olympic torch relay will take through London on its way to Beijing is unveiled today.

The torch will pass through the capital on Sunday 6 April and will be carried by 80 torchbearers, including double Olympic champion Kelly Holmes, newsreader Sir Trevor McDonald and actress Amara Karan.

According to the Mayor's office, which is organising the event, a quarter of the places for torchbearers will be awarded to London school children who represent the Olympic ideals. Each will carry the torch for 250 metres. Arriving from St Petersburg, it will begin the London leg at Wembley before passing central London landmarks such as Marble Arch and the Houses of Parliament. It will travel eastwards to Stratford, near the Olympic Park, and finish at the O2 Arena - itself an 2012 Olympic sports venue - where it will be used to light a "cauldron". It will then move on to Paris.

The torch relay will be the longest in Olympic history, passing through 23 countries. It leaves Mount Olympia in Greece on 25 March. After it arrives in China, it will tour the country for three months before arriving at the Beijing Games opening ceremony on 8 August.

Mayor Ken Livingstone said: "In the year that will see the hand-over from Beijing to London it is a unique opportunity to generate interest and excitement across the capital as London prepares for 2012."

The Olympic torch last passed through London in 2004 before the Athens Games. An estimated 70,000 people saw Sir Steve Redgrave carrying it along the Mall.

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