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Britain's David Beckham holds the Olympic torch during the ceremony to mark the arrival of the Olympic flame to Britain from Greece, at RNAS Culdrose, Cornwall, England, Friday May 18, 2012. Alastair Grant, Associated Press
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Britain's Princess Anne carries the lantern containing the Olympic flame for the ceremony to mark the arrival of the Olympic flame from Greece to Britain at RNAS Culdrose, Cornwall, England, Friday May 18, 2012. Barry Gomer, Associated Press
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Britain's Princess Anne carries the Olympic flame in a lantern at RNAS Culdrose, Cornwall, England after arriving on a special flight from Greece, with soccer star David Beckham, center, and Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London 2012 Olympic Organising Co Alastair Grant, Associated Press
By Associated Press

ROYAL NAVAL AIR STATION CULDROSE, England — The Olympic flame has arrived in Britain to begin its 70-day relay around the country ahead of the games.

The flame flew to Britain from Greece on the gold-painted British Airways Flight 2012 and landed at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall on Friday evening. It was carried onto British soil by Princess Anne, the head of the British Olympic Committee and herself a former Olympian.

The torch will be carried all over the British Isles by 8,000 chosen volunteers, mostly local heroes. Its 8,000-mile (12,875-kilometer) journey will linger on the iconic sites — Big Ben, Stonehenge, the white cliffs of Dover — and speed past other areas.

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It ends up July 27 at Olympic Stadium in London to mark the start of the games.

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