Olympic flame completes Gloriana journey down Thames

The sun shone for the Olympic flame today as it completed its journey on the Gloriana on the final leg of its 70-day, 8,000-mile journey around the United Kingdom ahead of tonight's opening ceremony.

The royal rowbarge led a flotilla of more than 50 boats down the Thames. Flotilla organiser Malcolm Knight declared "mission accomplished" on his loudspeaker as the boats arrive at Tower Bridge. He said:

"It was marvellous, absolutely marvellous. The whole thing went fantastically, there were boats everywhere and the banks were lined with thousands of people.[...] It's a great way to bring the flame into central London, using the highway of London."