Torch Auction Keeps Olympic Legacy Alive

If there were any doubts at the beginning of the year as to whether the Olympics would be a roaring success or an expensive failure, all doubts have surely been dispelled as we now come to the end of the year.

Leaving aside the incredible medal haul achieved by both our Olympians and the Paralympians, the games took up the baton (pun intended!) from where the Queen's Diamond Jubilee left off, and made sure that 2012 was a year never to be forgotten.

The feel good factor showed itself in many ways, including positive economic figures for the financial quarter in question, and even now, some two months after the last games finished, the benefits are still being felt.

For the Olympic torch that Sir Chris Bonnington carried to the summit of Snowdon is being auctioned at the Royal Geographical Society this coming Wednesday 14th November. There is a special significance relating to this particular torch as it reached the summit of Snowdon on May 29th, the fifty-ninth anniversary of the day that Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing reached the summit of Everest.

What appeals to me most is that the proceeds of the auction will go to help Community Action Nepal, a charity set up to help projects to benefit the country's mountain peoples. Surely this is a perfect way to honour Sherpa Tenzing's homeland for his efforts on that day 59 years ago, as well as recognising the wonderful contribution that the Gurkha Regiments have made to the British Army for many years.

“I really can’t think of a better use for my Olympic torch than to raise funds for this outstanding charity,“ said Sir Chris Bonnington.

He added “We often hear talk of an ‘Olympic legacy' - this will be a very useful legacy for some of the world’s poorest people.”

The auction is being arranged by Doug Scott, the first man to climb Everest’s south west face. He said “the aim of Community Action Nepal is to help the mountain communities remain sustainable, viable and to help stop the human drift into Kathmandu."

“The reality is that, with just a bit of support, the hill communities can provide a decent way of life, while the supposed attractions of Kathmandu invariably end in exploitation, despair and often tragedy for the hill people.”

The torch is being auctioned through open online bids at www.canepal.org.uk , and it is hoped to raise in the region of £10,000.