Although indirectly (for me), Olympic fever is definitely reaching out to all of us encouraging physical expression and activity, and in Surrey this is manifesting itself on 23 June at G Live in the Surrey Schools Have Talent! Live Final.
Inspired by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and as a result of Surrey-wide auditions and thousands of online votes 14 performances from Surrey’s most talented school children have been short-listed to take part in the live final at the G Live venue in Guildford.
One of the schools to successfully win a place at this event is The Vale Primary School, Langley Vale, who will be performing a Billy Elliot-inspired song and dance to Shine, taken from the movie. Jennai Alberts the organiser explains “we felt it linked perfectly to the Olympic ethos, and as the song is all about being yourself and trying your best, we thought this fitted well. The performers are Inigo Alberts, Affrika Alberts, Abbie Kitson, Sophie Cox, Erin Costello, Saffron Waterworth, Ffion Waterworth, Cerys Timothy and Ellie Kibble. All the girls are 8, and Inigo, the only boy, is 10. For our performance all the children will be in red, white and blue.”
The Olympic torch itself will be travelling through Shere and Guildford on 20th July, finishing at a free ticketed celebratory event at Stoke Park in Guildford. Starting at 2pm there will be a stage show with locally based music and other performances including Rizzle Kicks and cauldron lighting from the Olympic flame.
Arriving even sooner than that in Brighton, the torch will enter the city on 16th and 17th July, Day 59 of the Olympic Torch Relay. Having begun its journey on 19 May at Lands End in Cornwall the torch will eventually make it to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on 27th July.
Before that however on 16th July torchbearers will run through Hove with the Olympic flame to the main Olympic torch Relay evening celebration at Sussex County Cricket Club and will emerge the next day from Brighton Pavilion at 7.20 am to continue its route through Brighton.