Drogba and UK royal family the highlight at torch relay

Zara Phillips holds the Olympic torch while riding through Cheltenham race course in Cheltenham, May 23, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON - Former world equestrian champion Zara Phillips carried the Olympic torch on horseback across the storied Cheltenham racecourse on Wednesday, as thousands of screaming fans watched her light the Olympic cauldron.

More than 16,500 people, including her mother the Princess Anne, were gathered on the famous course's turf to see Phillips trot past the finishing post to the theme from the 1981 film, "Chariots of Fire."

Phillips, the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, was riding Toytown - the horse that nearly helped her win a berth for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Speaking after the ceremony, the 31-year-old royal said she was beginning to feel the torch's weight.

"It's not too heavy when you pick it up, but if you're carrying it for a little while you can feel a little burn," she said.

Zara Phillips holds the Olympic torch while riding through Cheltenham race course in Cheltenham May 23, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

Philips, who's still hoping to compete in London 2012, was closed out the fifth day of the 70-day torch relay, which has so far taken the flame across southwest England.

At the end of each day, the torch is used to light a cauldron that holds the flame until the relay continues.

Rapturous welcome for Drogba

Chelsea's Champions League hero Didier Drogba was given a rapturous welcome as he carried the Olympic flame on Wednesday, the day after announcing he was leaving the club.

Chelsea soccer player Didier Drogba carries the London 2012 Olympic torch during the route through Swindon, England, May 23, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

Drogba was mobbed by thousands of people lining the route as he jogged through Swindon town center in western England with his torch and waved to the crowd on the fifth day of the relay ahead of the 2012 London Olympics.

Drogba announced on Tuesday that he was quitting Chelsea, just days after scoring the winning penalty shot in the club's dramatic Champion's League final win over Bayern Munich. He is pursuing a career elsewhere.

"I think winning the game was the key. Not me scoring the penalty," he told the BBC. "Winning the game was the turning point. That's why I have decided to say goodbye."

The British media have reported that Drogba's next move will take him to China, but he hasn't confirmed that.

"I hope everyone will understand," Drogba said. ''Everything I did was for the fans, and I hope they understand."

The relay finishes at the Olympic Stadium in London on July 27.

Chelsea soccer player Didier Drogba carries the London 2012 Olympic torch during the route through Swindon, England, May 23, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]