Skip to main content
Come Fan with UsSaturday, June 20, 2026

Who Will Light The Olympic Flame At The Opening Ceremony? Maybe The Queen!

If you would like to bet on a thing that requires you to know the peculiarities of the decision-makers within the 2012 London Olympics, boy, do I have a deal for you! You should bet on who lights the Olympic Flame!

The odds to light the Olympic torch heavily favor Steven Redgrave, who won gold medals in rowing at five consecutive Games and is considered Britain’s greatest Olympian. But that shouldn’t stop you from wagering on someone else, like David Beckham (who was passed over for one of the three over-23 spots on the British Olympic team), Queen Elizabeth, or Nelson Mandela (66-1 at SkyBet!), or Muhammad Ali (33-1 at SkyBet, and also ???).

Here’s what the odds for the consensus top four candidates look like.

  • Steven Redgrave: 8-15 (SkyBet), 2-5 (Paddy Power), 1-2 (Bodog)
  • Roger Bannister: 11-4 (SkyBet), 7-2 (Paddy Power), 9-4 (Bodog)
  • David Beckham: 5-1 (SkyBet, Paddy Power, Bodog)
  • Queen Elizabeth: 11-2 (SkyBet), 6-1 (Bodog)

For more on the 2012 London Olympics, visit our dedicated Olympics hub. For more on the Opening Ceremony, visit our Opening Ceremony StoryStream and our rundown of what to watch for in the Opening Ceremony.

See More:

More in General

GeneralFromPosting and Toasting
An SB Nation New Yorker needs our helpAn SB Nation New Yorker needs our help
GeneralFromPosting and Toasting
General
Sabastian Sawe breaks 2-hour barrier, shatters marathon world recordSabastian Sawe breaks 2-hour barrier, shatters marathon world record
General

The mythical two-hour mark was broken at the London Marathon.

By Bernd Buchmasser
A Huge Dog
THE HISTORY OF CHARGING THE MOUND, EPISODE 1THE HISTORY OF CHARGING THE MOUND, EPISODE 1
Play
General
Super Bowl 60 coin toss resultsSuper Bowl 60 coin toss results
General

The Seahawks and Patriots will open the Super Bowl with the coin toss to determine who starts with the ball. We have the full coin toss results for Super Bowl 60.

By David Fucillo
General
Marc Marquez completes a comeback for the agesMarc Marquez completes a comeback for the ages
General

MotoGP’s Marc Marquez completed a comeback for the ages with his 2025 title

By Mark Schofield
General
How to make sure SBNation.com appears in your Google search resultsHow to make sure SBNation.com appears in your Google search results