Olympic flame arrives in London

With the flame comes the games. After years of preparation and months of buildup, London’s Olympic moment finally arrived Friday night. Royal Marine Martyn Williams carried the Olympic torch as he rappelled down from a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter into the Tower of London on the shore of the River Thames. The commando’s grand entrance plunged the symbol of the games into the city’s historic heart, bringing Olympic pageantry to the British capital that last held the event in 1948. Crowds lined the city’s famed river banks to see the torch arrive, while Yeoman warders – the ceremonial Tower guards popularly known as Beefeaters – looked on from inside the landmark’s grounds. – Associated Press