Olympic torch designer 'inspired by holidays in Wales'

The countdown to the London 2012 Olympic Games stepped up a gear this morning as the Olympic Flame was lit in Greece

The flame was lit using the rays of the the sun in a traditional ceremony in ancient Olympia.

A torch carrying the flame will tour Greece before being flown to the UK for a 70 day relay, arriving in Wales on May 25th.

Edward Barber and his partner Jay Osgerby came up with the triangular torch design.

Mr Barber, who was born and raised in Shropshire but he says he traces his first inspiration for design back to his childhood trips to Wales.

The torch will spend a week travelling through Greece and will arrive on Welsh soil on May 25th, six days after the relay starts in Lands End.

It will begin its tour of Wales in Monmouth before being carried through South and West Wales, up Cardigan Bay and across North Wales.

Vigorous testing has been carried out on the Olympic torch to ensure the flame is not easily extinguished.

These tests saw the 2012 Olympic torch taken to the summit of Snowdon.