Football, TV and rugby all take a turn to parade torch

Theo Walcott, the England and Arsenal footballer, was today unveiled as one of the carriers of the Olympic torch as it passes through London on Sunday.

Other celebrity torchbearers announced today are tennis player Tim Henman, Blue Peter presenter Zoe Salmon, former rugby player Kenny Logan and TV presenter Denise van Outen.

They complete a line-up of 80 celebrities, former athletes and members of the public who will parade the Beijing-bound flame from Wembley to Greenwich.

Other prominent torchbearers include yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur, Sir Trevor McDonald and Kelly Holmes who will carry the flame on the last leg into the O2 Arena. Former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq, also a torchbearer, has insisted she will fulfil her duties after wavering over China's brutal intervention in Tibet.

The 31-mile route through 10 London boroughs is expected to be a target for anti-China activists. Organisers have defended the right of campaigners such as the Free Tibet group to protest peacefully. Olympics minister Tessa Jowell said she would not be intimated by violent demonstrations into scaling down London's ambitions for the relay in four years.

Sebastian Coe, chairman of the 2012 Games organising committee, Locog, said today: "The Olympic torch is a symbol of sport and a symbol of cooperation between nations - a call to the athletes of the world that the biggest global sporting event is about to begin."