City to receive Paralympic Lantern
Friday 14 September 2012
London 2012 may have drawn to an end but for Coventry there will be a lasting memento with the city set to receive one of the London 2012 Paralympic Lanterns.
Rita Thompson, Coventry's oldest Paralympian and Paralympic Ambassador, will present the miner's lantern to the Lord Mayor, Cllr Tim Sawdon, at the beginning of Tuesday's City Council.
Rita Thompson travelled to Trafalgar Square last month to collect the Paralympic Lantern, lit from a 'splinter' of the Paralympic Flame. Coventry was one of just 36 cities to receive the Flame. She and the Lord Mayor brought it back to the city and the following day, 25 August, over 600 people enjoyed an afternoon celebration of disability sport, art and culture in Millennium Place. Now the Paralympic Lantern will be formally presented to the Lord Mayor as a gift to the people of Coventry and a memento to the London 2012 games.
The Lord Mayor, Councillor Tim Sawdon, said: "After an historic event in Coventry and collecting the Lantern from Trafalgar Square with the city's Paralympic Ambassador, it's a fitting tribute to be able to receive the Lantern as a parting gift of the London 2012 Paralympic Games and display it for Coventry citizens to enjoy."
