I'M beginning to feel sorry for the Olympic flame, if not its many bearers.

During its 8000-mile, 10-week tour of the UK next summer, it will take a boat journey up Loch Ness -- what a sensational PR triumph it will be if the monster surfaces to take a peek, or even blow it out -- but that’s the least of it.

The flame will ride in a motorbike sidecar on the Isle of Man. It will brave white water rapids, it will abseil down a tower, it will climb high on a chair lift and -- forgive the slight anti-climax -- it will take a tram ride though the Black Country. Well, at least no-one had the bright idea of taking it on a tram ride through Edinburgh.

This extended orgy of flaming hyperactivity may well be designed to distract us from fears that the Olympics will benefit only London. After all, the lasting “legacy” is to be the £10 billion worth of new infrastructure being built in an admittedly deprived area of north east London.

I’m surprised that civic leaders across the UK have been so eager to enthuse about the long-suffering flame as it flickers and flares through their patch. The most excited quotes I’ve seen come from Nick Forbes, leader of Newcastle City Council, who said the arrival of the torch in his city would be “a thrilling opportunity to be part of history”. He added that there could be no more poignant backdrop than the Tyne Bridge. That might be taking civic pride a little far.

Surely the most poignant backdrop for the flame will be where it ultimately belongs, in the new Olympic stadium. But then that’s in London, and I suspect we’re being softened up in advance of a huge orchestrated public relations blitz to try to divert attention from just how London-centric next year’s Olympics will be (and yes, I know there will be Olympic football at Hampden).

The flame’s route will take in more than 1000 UK cities, towns and villages. It should pass within 10 miles of 95% of the population. I hope we’re sufficiently grateful. Indeed I can already hear the Coalition’s favourite hard man dispensing more tough love. Yes, I can hear Danny Alexander telling us: “The flame will pass within 10 miles of you -- or at least 95 % of you. Be grateful, be very grateful”.

But what about the deprived 5%? I’m already feeling sorry for these outcasts, as well as the poor flame itself.

Lord Coe, the London Olympic Organising Committee chairman, recently said: “We saw with the royal wedding that there is an appetite for community celebrations.” The linking of royalty with the Olympics is significant. Some time ago I was told that the Coalition had internally designated 2012 as the “Year of Joy.”.The idea being that we’d have got used to the austerity cuts, and next year would be the right time to generate a nationwide glow of feel- good positivity.

The two main components would be the Queen’s diamond jubilee celebrations -- cue street parties -- and the Olympics. Sadly, the Eurozone crisis looks like making 2012 even grimmer than anyone could have imagined just a few months ago.

There will be, or should be, a genuine outpouring of respect and gratitude to the Queen for her 60 years of impeccable service. Whether this will develop into actual “joy” is another matter. And whether the Olympics can generate a UK-wide mood of glad festivity is even more problematic.

In London itself, doubts are growing. Prominent figures in the city’s tourist industry are beginning to have serious concerns about the benefits of the Olympics. A survey by European tour operators found that, almost unbelievably, bookings in London could be 90% down next summer. Many potential visitors are worried about security, transport difficulties and general hassle.

This obviously presents an opportunity for the rest of the UK, not least Scotland. How ironic it will be if the rest of the UK does benefit, long after the flame has passed by.