UK Royal Navy to kick start Olympics torch race

Officials have picked who will be the first to welcome the Olympics torch: Britain's Royal Navy.

The force's search and rescue squadron will welcome the flame as it arrives May 18 from Athens aboard a special British Airways plane, organizers said Saturday.

The flame will stay a night at a Royal Navy air base in Culdrose, Cornwall, before it is flown to Land's End — the most westerly point in England — in a search and rescue helicopter.

From there, the torch will begin its journey across the U.K. in a relay which involves 8,000 torchbearers travelling 8,000 miles (12,875 kilometers).

The torch is scheduled to reach the Olympic Stadium in London on the eve of July 27.

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