by Angela Cole

acole@thekmgroup.co.uk

Maidstone will have its moment of Olympic excitement when the flame makes its way into the borough tomorrow.

There will be plenty of opportunities for local people to catch a glimpse of the gleaming symbol of the Games as it arrives at Leeds Castle tomorrow evening, and then is carried through the streets of the County Town the following morning (Friday).

The torch will cross into the borough border at Harrietsham at 6.19pm where the parish council has laid on ticketed celebrations, which start at 4pm.

It will then arrive at Leeds Castle for the ticketed event, which includes a performance of the council commissioned production The River Runs Through It.

Foster carer Julia Chilcott from Allington will have the honour of lighting the celebration cauldron on stage towards the end of the two-hour show.

The following morning, on Friday, crowds are expected to be up at the crack of dawn to see the torch leave from Mote Park, carried by Scout Chris Bury, an Invicta Grammar School sixth former, at 6.37am.

Schoolchildren from Kingswood, Barming and Leybourne will be lining the route with their own relay, featuring sporting and Olympic-themed jokes, as it makes its way out of the park.

For those planning to attend, council bosses are warning that parking will only be available for the disabled in the leisure centre car park, and are encouraging people to use public transport, rather than park in neighbouring streets.

It will then make its way through the streets of Maidstone, into the town centre along King Street, the High Street, and Mill Street, before heading for the Archbishop’s Palace.

There will be plenty of chances for people in the town centre to see it carried aloft as the torch is carried at an average of just four miles an hour.

Maidstone council has laid on a plethora of street entertainment in the town to celebrate, with morris dancers, a steel band and more for the morning.

The torch will then be carried on board a replica royal barge and rowed along the River Medway to Maidstone Rowing Club at 7.30am, where it will then leave the town to head to Gillingham.

Later on Friday, torchbearers from Kent will be among runners taking part in the KM Maidstone Mile, also in the High Street town centre, at 6.15pm. The event will be followed by a mile’s swim in the River Medway starting at 7.30pm.