Olympic flag to fly in Trowbridge

3:22pm Tuesday 19th August 2008

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THE OLYMPIC flag will be flying proudly at the front of County Hall in Trowbridge next week.

To mark the moment when the Olympic flag is handed over to the mayor of London in Beijing, Wiltshire County Council will be flying the London 2012 Olympic flag from next week.

The county council, on behalf of Team South West, is also inviting people throughout Wiltshire to make two minutes of noise at 4pm on Sunday August 24.

It is hoped the noise will be led by church bells ringing across the region and people can get involved in a variety of ways, including simultaneously playing a specially commissioned ring tone, called Jumping Through Hoops, on their mobile phones.

The ringtone can be downloaded by visiting www.ringingin.co.uk.

The county council wants all bell ringers, choirs, bike riders, town criers, ice-cream vans, and everyone else to celebrate the special moment.

Mary Douglas, Wiltshire County Council's cabinet member for culture, said: "I am delighted that churches, as a foundational part of the culture of Great Britain, have been invited to ring-in the four years of cultural and sporting celebration as we prepare to host the Olympic Games.

"And most of us have mobile phones and can join in too. We've seen what China can do - we're next. Let's make a noise!"

In Britain's major cities, big screens will beam pictures from the stadium into our city centres.

Local authorities throughout the country will raise and fly 2012 flags from civic and cultural buildings, choirs will sing, and communities are being invited to celebrate the event.