The Olympic torch relay route will be hitting East Sussex by storm next year, the list of towns it will be passing through has been announced and locally the ones to mention are Eastbourne, Bexhill and St Leonards before stopping at an Evening Celebration in Hastings on Tuesday July 17, 2012.

The flame then continues through Hastings and Rye on Wednesday July 18, 2012 before continuing its journey to Kent and around the country.

The 70 day Olympic Torch Relay, will start at Land’s End, Cornwall on the morning of May 19, 2012. And as part of its journey through East Sussex, it will also stop at one of the country’s most iconic coastal landmarks – the Seven Sisters.

Sebastian Coe, chair of LOCOG said: “We are thrilled to confirm that several towns and villages in East Sussex will act as host locations for the Olympic Flame, extending an invitation to people to welcome the Olympic torch relay during its journey around the UK.

“This is the UK’s moment to shine and I want to encourage people across East Sussex to start planning how they can be part of this once in a lifetime opportunity and show their support for the inspirational torchbearers chosen to carry the Olympic Flame as we count down to the start of the Olympic Games.”

Hastings’ Time To Shine

With this confirmed announcement it’s an ideal opportunity, with the worlds eyes upon us, for the local businesses and residents of Hastings to come out and show just how great we are and how great our t0wn is. Hastings has such a mix of businesses from small to large, service providers, creatives, industrial and so on.

I’ve never come across a place like Hastings before for the kind of mixed “multi-cultural” -business scene. And it’s time to celebtrate it to bring in some much needed tourism and industry into the area – that we could all benefit from.

So come on Hastings, it’s time to shine