The London 2012 Olympic Torch is coming to Gravesham, it was announced today.

The torch will pass through Gravesend and the village of Higham as the flame makes its way around the country on its way to the Olympic Park for the London 2012 Games.

It will be in Gravesham on July 20, 2012– just eight days before the Games get under way – and a number of celebrations are planned for the day.

Gravesend and Higham are two of more than 1,000 villages, towns and cities chosen by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) through which the Olympic Flame will be carried by torchbearers during the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay.

LOCOG has worked closely with representatives from a number of sectors in Kent to devise the route.

Gravesham council was one of the first to mark the occasion with a special light show projected on the front of the civic centre, switched on by mayor Cllr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi at one minute past midnight to coincide with the timing of the announcement.

The light show will be on again during Monday afternoon from 4pm and a Go Gravesham team will be handing out invitations to the public from 7am today (Monday).

Tugs on the river from Svitzers in Denton sounded their horns just after midnight in celebration, too.

Council leader Cllr John Burden, whose portfolio includes the Olympics, said: "We are thrilled on behalf of the people of Gravesham that we have been given the honour of hosting the torch on this once in a lifetime occasion.

"We will be working with the whole community to ensure everyone can celebrate this event in style.

"It is a tribute to the work of the council over the last few years in developing an opportunity for everyone to take full advantage of this unique event."

Cllr Dhesi (pictured) said: "We are extending a welcome to everyone to come and enjoy this opportunity to share everything this borough has to offer with the rest of the world and to take part in the countdown to the start of the Games and to be about to shine a light on the communities which will host the torch relay and celebrate those chosen to run with the Olympic Flame."

Cllr David Turner, who led the Olympic preparations under the previous council administration, said: "Officers have been working on this and other Go Gravesham initiatives over the last couple of years.

"It is a significant success due in no small part to that effort and we expect to see other successes that will support the local economy in the lead up to, during and after the London Games."

The precise route will not be announced until next July but today’s announcement marks the culmination of a major part of the Go Gravesham campaign to promote the borough for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Council staff will be handing out souvenir invitations to see the torch from 7am today from around the Community Square.

The 70 day Olympic Torch Relay will start at Land’s End, Cornwall, on the morning of May 19, 2012. It will then travel an estimated 8,000 miles around the UK giving thousands of communities and individuals their moment to shine as the Olympic Flame comes to a place near them.

On the final day of the Olympic Torch Relay, it is LOCOG’s intention that the Olympic Flame will travel down the River Thames as it makes its way to the Olympic Stadium on July 27, 2012 for the lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony, signifying the official start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The Olympic Flame will be carried across the UK by 8,000 torchbearers each of whom will have a story of personal achievement or contribution to the local community. In December this year, successful nominees will be contacted with a conditional offer and final torchbearer places will start to be confirmed from February 2012 onwards.