Beijing olympics Opening Ceremony - Sir Chris Hoy is set to be named as the flagbearer for Team GB at Friday's Olympic opening ceremony. It will be the second successive time the cyclist will have been given the honour – he also carried the union flag in the closing ceremony at Beijing four years ago.
Hoy, a gold medal winner at the two previous Games, won the biggest number of votes among the 542 members of the British team. Others who also received support included Alison Williamson, the archer who will be competing at her sixth Olympics.
A number of other possible candidates such as sailor Ben Ainslie and swimmer Rebecca Adlington were not on the shortlist. Their competition demands means they are not able to attend the opening ceremony.
The London 2012 chairman, Sebastian Coe, said the choice of the person to light the Olympic flame is not his call. Coe has an input but the final decision will be taken by the opening ceremony creative teams headed by Danny Boyle and Stephen Daldry. That appears slightly at odds with Andy Hunt, the British Olympic Association chief executive, who on Saturday stated that it would be a joint decision between the BOA and London 2012.
Coe also insisted that despite a report last week he is not pushing the claims of his close friend Daley Thompson over Sir Steve Redgrave. He told the Press Association: "It will be a judgment made by our creative teams led by Danny Boyle and Stephen Daldry, and of course I will be a part of that but I have been very clear that it is not my call. I am certainly not pushing one person over another, and it still has not been decided, absolutely not."
The identity of the person is supposed to be kept a secret until the actual moment of the flame-lighting. Other possible people for the lighting include Dame Kelly Holmes, Roger Bannister and David Beckham. The creative teams have even discussed whether the person needs to be well-known or should be symbolic – for example a child from the East End of London.
Hoy, a gold medal winner at the two previous Games, won the biggest number of votes among the 542 members of the British team. Others who also received support included Alison Williamson, the archer who will be competing at her sixth Olympics.
A number of other possible candidates such as sailor Ben Ainslie and swimmer Rebecca Adlington were not on the shortlist. Their competition demands means they are not able to attend the opening ceremony.
The London 2012 chairman, Sebastian Coe, said the choice of the person to light the Olympic flame is not his call. Coe has an input but the final decision will be taken by the opening ceremony creative teams headed by Danny Boyle and Stephen Daldry. That appears slightly at odds with Andy Hunt, the British Olympic Association chief executive, who on Saturday stated that it would be a joint decision between the BOA and London 2012.
Coe also insisted that despite a report last week he is not pushing the claims of his close friend Daley Thompson over Sir Steve Redgrave. He told the Press Association: "It will be a judgment made by our creative teams led by Danny Boyle and Stephen Daldry, and of course I will be a part of that but I have been very clear that it is not my call. I am certainly not pushing one person over another, and it still has not been decided, absolutely not."
The identity of the person is supposed to be kept a secret until the actual moment of the flame-lighting. Other possible people for the lighting include Dame Kelly Holmes, Roger Bannister and David Beckham. The creative teams have even discussed whether the person needs to be well-known or should be symbolic – for example a child from the East End of London.
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