Inevitable summer shower all of which it will be able to cope withĪfter going through the stringent testing process. Summer heat of the South coast of England, not to mention the Summit of Snowdon, swirling winds on the Shetland Islands and the Testing, was the natural location to house a bespoke range of testsĭeveloped by LOCOG and the engineering partner of the Olympic Torch, Tecosim.Īs the Olympic Torch travels around the UK it will have to stayĪlight in all British weather including freezing temperatures at the Metres above sea level, four times the height of Ben Nevis, theīMW, as the Official Automotive Partner of the London 2012 OlympicĪnd Paralympic Games and an expert in efficiency and state-of-the-art The facility can also replicate an altitude of 4,200 The wind speeds of up to 280 km/h are greater than those generated in +55C, BMW can replicate the Arctic Tundra and the Sahara Desert, while Group vehicles through three wind tunnels and two climatic testĬhambers, is able to imitate hostile environments from around the The ETC, which is normally used to examine the performance of BMW Olympic Torch ahead of its 70 day Olympic Relay around the UK.
Weather systems into one building – has been put to use to test the (ETC) in Munich – which brings some of the world’s most extreme One thing's for sure – with 8,000 runners and 8,000 torches potentially for sale – the chance of making money, for charity or otherwise, may be decreasing sharply in the days ahead.įor its part, the London Olympic organizing committee has said that the torches are the personal property of the individual runners, and it's "their choice to do with them as they wanted.BMW Group’s state-of-the-art Energy and Environmental Test Centre I just think it belittles the spirit of the games," she said. "I absolutely won't be parting company with it. Julia Immonen will carry the torch in the coming days for charity. Others running for charity think it might be better to keep the torch – take it to schools and community centers to raise awareness. When the bidding closed on Cowburn's torch, it appeared that the winning bid was more than $180,000. "So for me to give something back, it's a massive, massive thing." It was set up in memory of my brother, and I wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to run with the torch had I not set up the charity with my family, and been representing it," Cowburn said. "For me personally, the charity Invictus is very close to my heart. She says she wanted to raise money for a good cause. "If someone is content with the memory from the day of the fact that they carried the torch, and if they're happy to not have a torch in the corner of the living room, or their fireplace, or wherever they choose to have it in their home," he said, "I guess that's personal preference to be honest."Ĭharity – that's why Sophia Cowburn put her torch up on eBay. He personally wouldn't sell the torch he carried, but he sees why others might. Richard Burbedge suffers from cystic fibrosis, and underwent a double lung transplant. Other torchbearers are a bit more understanding. I think it's very disappointing that people are selling that torch." You've had the privilege of passing that flame on. "You are a torchbearer, and I think you should bear that for life," Murphy said. Jason Murphy, 19, carried the torch, and he's not happy some of his comrades are selling. For one, the current bid is more than $55,000. A quick search of eBay's UK site shows a number of official torches for sale. Well, not so much that a few torchbearers aren't trying to cash in. You have to be nominated, though you do have to shell out a few hundred bucks for the torch and the official relay outfit. It's considered an honor to carry the torch. For 70 days, 8,000 runners will hand it from one torch to another, until it finally makes its way to London for the start of the 2012 Summer Games.
The Olympic flame is making its journey around Britain.