Sebastian Coe, chairman of LOCOG pic: London 2012

Huge crowds are expected for the Lewisham start of the procession of the Olympic Torch through south London, organisers said today.

The torch will be taken to 1,108 UK communities between May 18 and July 27 and organisers today announced further details of the route  through south London on July 23.

It was already been announced that the torch will pass through Hackney and Tower Hamlets, both officially designated Olympic boroughs on July 21. Full details of exact routes will be released later.

The torch, designed by Shoreditch based duo Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, will be carried by over 8,000 people and will come within 10 miles of 95 per cent of the British population.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games revealed today that the Lewisham leg of the journey will begin at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in Deptford, which was nominated as the starting point by Lewisham Council. The building was designed by Herzog and de Meuron, who designed the Beijing’s ‘Birds Nest’ Olympic Stadium.

A spokesman said that big crowds were expected at the Laban, since it was the starting point for that day’s procession.

Later that day, torch will be taken through Bromley, Croydon, Sutton, Merton and Wandsworth where it will be seen by thousands of other people.

Professor Anthony Browne, Principal of Trinity Laban, said: “We are a world class conservatoire for music and contemporary dance students both locally and from around the world – but we are also deeply proud of our Deptford roots and our work with the local community and we would like to thank Lewisham Council for nominating us.

Sir Steve Bullock, Mayor of Lewisham, added that welcoming the torch to Lewisham is “just the start” of the borough’s celebrations of the 2012 Olympics.

Details of the street-by-street route will be confirmed next year and Torchbearers will be selected from February.