31 August 2012 Last updated at 08:49

In pictures: Paralympic torch relay in London

The Paralympic flame reached London in the early hours of Wednesday as it was carried from Stoke Mandeville, the spiritual home of the Games, towards the Olympic Stadium as part of a 24-hour relay. The flame's first visit of the day was to the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir temple in Neasden.

Torchbearing team Meigan Lyons, Lesley Anne Newman, Kathlyn Smedley, Hannah Lane and Dora Witcomb carried the flame through Harrow. The flame arrived in London two hours late because of the late finish of a ceremony at Stoke Mandeville Stadium in which the Paralympic flame was created.

A team of torchbearers at Abbey Road crossing

Crowds gathered in Maida Vale, home of the iconic Abbey Road studios. Torchbearers were cheered on as they carried the flame over the crossing, made famous by The Beatles Abbey Road album cover.

Five members of the UK's first blind women's cricket team took the flame on to the pitch at Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood.

In front of spectators of a different kind, a team of previously unemployed people, who had all trained and qualified as fitness instructors, held the flame aloft in the Penguin Beach enclosure at London Zoo.

Paralympic wheelchair racing champion Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, who is an 11-time Paralympic gold medallist, was then passed the flame by this team on the relay.

Baroness Grey-Thompson and former boxer Michael Watson were part of a team that drew the attention of shoppers, tourists and torch fans alike as they made their way along Regent Street and through Piccadilly Circus.

Edward Parker and four others from the Walking with the Wounded charity, nominated by Prince Harry, carried the flame down Whitehall and in front of the Palace of Westminster.

During the day the flame visited other famous landmarks including the London Eye, where torchbearers included Richard Clarke, Lauren Appleby, Jane Atkinson, James Bonney and Claire Prospert.

The Paralympic torch on a boat on the relay leg between Lewisham and Greenwich

Team 102 - which included torchbearers Terri Bush, Paul Atkins, Niall Dempsey - carried the flame on a boat on the Thames on the relay leg between Lewisham and Greenwich.

On Tower Bridge torchbearers included Willam Noble, Jan Wilson and Francesca Porcellato on the relay between Tower Hamlets and Southwark.

Channel 4 news presenter Jon Snow was also a torchbearer on the day.

UK

In pictures: Paralympic torch relay in London

Share this page

Related Stories

Services

About BBC News