Villages and towns across Norfolk and Suffolk were today celebrating as dozens of locations were announced as being on the route of the Olympic Torch relay next summer.

On July 4 and 5 next year, the Olympic Flame will come through Norfolk and Suffolk – providing people with a chance to experience Olympic excitement first hand and support the achievements of some of the individuals who have been selected to be torchbearers.

The Norfolk locations have today been revealed as part of an announcement by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) of more than 1,000 villages, towns and cities in the UK through which the Olympic Flame will be carried by Torchbearers.

The 70-day Olympic Torch Relay will start at Land's End, Cornwall, on the morning of May 19.

On leaving Land's End, the flame will travel an estimated 8,000 miles around the UK, giving thousands of communities and individuals their moment to shine as it comes to a place near them.

The torch will reach Norfolk on July 4 and will be run through King's Lynn, South Wootton, West Rudham, East Rudham, Fakenham, Holt, Cromer, Aylsham, and finally into Norwich.

There will be a special celebration event in Chapelfield Gardens that evening.

The Olympic Torch will then travel to Hethersett High School for an event early in the morning on July 5, before being run through more parts of Norwich, Acle, Filby and finally through Great Yarmouth. It will then make its way on to Suffolk, starting at Lowestoft

It will then move to Wrentham, Reydon, Southwold, Kelsale, Saxmundham, Aldeburgh, Wickham Market, Ufford, Melton, Woodbridge, Felixstowe and then Ipswich, where it will make an overnight stop at Christchurch Park for another special celebration.

Then on July 6 it will briefly leave Suffolk to go to Colchester but will then make a return to the county to Haverhill, Bury St Edmunds and finally Newmarket.

The street by street detail of the route will be confirmed by LOCOG next year.

James Carswell, Norfolk County Council's cabinet member for cultural services, said: 'This announcement is great news for Norfolk and follows a lot of hard work to ensure that the Olympic Torch Relay doesn't pass us by.

'This really is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Olympic Torch being run through Norfolk and I'm sure not just the communities en route, but residents from right across Norfolk, will be very excited by this news.

'As we have done with the Tour of Britain over the last two years, we will be looking to get as many people as possible involved, whether coming to view at roadside or supporting communities to put on local events to mark the occasion.'

The flame will at times be carried by one of the 8,000 selected torchbearers, whilst in between certain locations it will be transported in a vehicle.

Successful nominees will be contacted in December with a conditional offer and final places will start to be confirmed from February 2012 onwards.

John Lee, North Norfolk District Council's cabinet member for tourism, leisure and cultural Services, said: 'We welcome this very exciting news and are extremely delighted that the Olympic Torch Relay will be coming through North Norfolk in 2012. It is great recognition for the district and will raise its profile significantly, boosting our local economy and drawing a close link between our community and the historic events taking place in London next year.'

Andrew Proctor, leader of Broadland District Council, added: 'The opportunity to witness the Olympic Torch Relay is a once in a lifetime event and we are thrilled that it will be passing through Broadland.'

Look out for the next edition of London Calling, a free monthly guide to the games, which will appear in the EDP and Evening News on Tuesday, November 29. To see previous Olympic-related stories log on to www.edp24.co.uk or www.eveningnews24.co.uk and click on the London Calling logo