Monday, May 28, 2012

Olympic torch: DJ Chris Moyles gets "buzz" from torch relay leg

Chris Moyles

BBC Radio 1 DJChris Moylessaid he got an amazing buzz as he carried the Olympic torch inAberystwyth, as the relay travelled to Bangor.

The radio personality said it was a great honour to take the flame through the mid-Wales town from where his Radio 1 show was being broadcast live.

The day's first torchbearer carried the flame on the Aberystwyth Cliff Railway.

Later the torch will visit Caernarfon Castle before opera singer Bryn Terfel takes over for the final leg.

Moyles, who arrived in the town on the back of a motorbike, was greeted with a large cheer when he dismounted and the crowd spotted him.

He told BBC Wales reporter Kevin Leonard he was very excited to be carrying the torch.

After running the 300m leg up part of Penglais Hill he was whisked away to continue his radio show.

Later he said: "The fact that I got to run with it, and I am not from Aberystwyth, I felt so proud. Everyone was waving and cheering."

"The buzz is amazing but it's so quick."

Moyles, who has been following the torch's route with interest, said: "We've been watching torchcam which is the greatest thing in the world.

Search maps, check street routes and join in 70 days of live coverage in video, stories and pictures

"It's great to see everybody coming out at ridiculous times of the day."

Other highlights of Monday's 180-mile route include a ride on the Ffestiniog Railway steam train to Porthmadog ending with an evening celebration at the Faenol Estate.

The first torchbearer of the day, Carwen Richards, carried the flame on the Cliff Railway, which was opened in 1896 and operated on a water balance system until electrification in 1921.

A total of 84 torchbearers will make their way from Aberystwyth to Machynlleth, in an area with an expanding renewable energy industry, to Blaenau Ffestiniog, once a centre of the Welsh slate mining industry, before ending in one of five cities in Wales, Bangor.

Another train ride is scheduled for just after midday, when the torch will carried on board a Ffestiniog Railway train at Blaenau Ffestiniog and be taken to Porthmadog Harbour station.

In the early evening the torch will visit Caernarfon Castle, a huge and commanding presence that stands at the mouth of the Seiont river.

Edward I began building the castle in 1283 as the definitive chapter in his conquest of Wales and Edward and made sure his son, the first English Prince of Wales, was born here in 1284.

The castle is one of the most impressive in Wales and in 1969 it was used for the investiture of Prince Charles.

Shortly after, the torch will pass from a magisterial building to a man who has a voice that could be similarly described.

Terfel is a bass-baritone opera and concert singer who became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, receiving the honour from the Prince of Wales, in 2003.

His career highlights include starring in Strauss's Salome, singing Figaro and performing the title role of Don Giovanni.

He is also President of the Welsh homelessness charity Shelter Cymru and is Patron of Bobath Children's Therapy Centre Wales and continues to be a patron of the Welsh language and Welsh culture.

Terfel will take the torch into Bangor's Faenol Estate, where he will light the cauldron as part of an evening that includes a performance from rock band Kids in Glass Houses.

A total of 8,000 people will carry the flame on its 8,000 mile, 70-day journey around the UK to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on 27 July.



Source & Image : BBC

No comments:

Post a Comment