London 2012: Sir Chris Hoy to carry Team GB flag at Olympic opening

Two-time Olympic gold medal winner Sir Chris Hoy is all set to be the flagbearer for Team GB for the London 2012 Olympic ceremony on Friday. The cyclist will have the honour for the second successive time after carrying the flag in the closing ceremony in Beijing.

The 542 team members of the Team GB gave a majority vote to Hoy over archer Alison Williamson, who will compete at her sixth Olympics in London this year. Possible candidates including swimmer Rebecca Adlington and sailor Ben Ainslie did not figure on the list. However, the flame-lighter for the opening ceremony still remains undecided.

Sebastian Coe, the London 2012 chairman, emphasized that the choice for the flame-lighter is not his call, although reports claimed that he is pushing his close friend Daley Thompson. Coe said, “It will be a judgement 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.”

As per the traditions, the identity of the flame-lighter is to be kept a secret until the moment. Big names including Roger Bannister, David Beckham and Dame Kelly Holmes have been featuring on the possible options for lighting the Flame at the opening ceremony. However, David Beckham has ruled out himself after his controversial exclusion from the Team GB squad. David had said, “I’ve always said lighting the torch in the stadium is something that should be done by an Olympian, who has done incredible things for our country and won gold medals.”

Related:

London 2012 Olympics: Daley Thompson to carry Olympic flame
London 2012 Olympics: David Beckham refuses to light Olympic stadium flame
London 2012: Ryan Giggs to lead Team GB football squad

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