Olympic Shorts: Sporting heroes and celebrities to bear torch through capital

Past British sporting heroes including Daley Thompson, Gordon Banks and Lennox Lewis are among 1,000 torchbearers who will carry the Olympic flame through London during its final week. The torch is due to arrive in London on Friday.

From the world of showbusiness, David Walliams and Rupert Grint are also on the list. The torch will also be carried around Albert Square by EastEnders' Billy Mitchell, in a live broadcast of the BBC soap.

On its final day, sixteen oarsmen and women will row the flame downriver in Gloriana, the royal barge, to Tower Bridge.

London's Olympic Police Chief, Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison, said police officers from nine units had been called in to undertake security work in light of G4S's failure to meet its staffing contract. Local councils have been told to put in place the highest security levels when the torch passes through.

Thousands of unsold tickets to go on sale

Almost 200,000 unsold tickets could be offered for sale on the website of Olympic organisers, Locog, after being returned from foreign allocations to sponsors and travel agents.

The extra tickets will add to the existing 50,000 still available, together with one million tickets for football matches and another million for the Paralympics.

Locog said yesterday it would resell unsold tickets from travel operators meant for hotel packages for foreign Olympic committees and sponsors to the British public. They include tickets to basketball and volleyball.

Players may miss ceremony

Whether Team GB footballers attend the opening ceremony will be "a matter entirely for the players", says coach Stuart Pearce. The team play Senegal in their opening game the day before the ceremony, and take on the United Arab Emirates two days after it at Wembley.

The Voice has access refused

Britain's oldest black newspaper, "The Voice", has been denied accreditation to the Olympic stadium. Editor George Ruddock described the decision "as a slap in the face". The BOA said it was over subscribed for the stadium.

Games chief for Libya is abducted

The head of Libya's Olympic committee has been abducted in Tripoli just days before the country's team for the Games was due to be announced.

Pick-up trucks carrying armed men, claiming to be from the army, stopped a car Nabil Elalem was travelling in with a friend and forced him to accompany them.

A spokesman for Libya's Olympics commission later said the attackers were not from the armed forces.

Mr Elalem had served in the committee under Muhammad Gaddafi, a son of Col Gaddafi.