Before a single gold medal had been won, one solitary spark of history had already left the vibrant coastal streets of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch breathless and at a standstill.
In the summer of 2012, the relay brought Olympian-sized crowds to the streets of Dorset, turning roads into red, white and blue cheer lines.
On Friday, July 13, the flame wound its way across the immediate area, leaving the Isle of Purbeck to journey through Wareham, Upton, and Hamworthy before arriving in Poole.
Thousands gathered to line the roadside and cheer the local heroes who were carrying the torch through the town, feeling the swell of anticipation as the torch and its convoy continued towards its night-time destination.
The nationwide relay reached a dazzling zenith as it crossed into Bournemouth, flowing through Wallisdown and Winton to the deafening cheers of crowds lauding police outriders and torchbearers alike.
The flame finally descended through the Lower Gardens, where 16-year-old Charlie Rogers from Ringwood, recognised for his tireless work with the Sailability charity, was cradling it on its final stretch.
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In the fading summer light, two torches "kissed" to pass the flame and he lit a ceremonial cauldron on a stage erected specially for the purpose on the beach to the roar of 10,000 revellers.
The celebrations continued long into the night, but the coast woke early the next morning to bid a final farewell to the historic beacon. Soon after 8am on Saturday, July 14, hundreds of flag-waving well-wishers wielding cameras gathered at the end of Bournemouth Pier as Mayor Phil Stanley-Watts waved off 19-year-old Mariam Kazem-Malaki to start the day’s relay.
The torch then snaked its way out of the borough towards Boscombe and pressed on into Christchurch, where an estimated 7,000 people had packed the High Street and Barrack Road to see the spectacle.
There, hometown heroine and local teacher Jacqui Seymour took the flame outside the Mayor’s parlour, completing the ancient borough’s leg of the journey before the convoy headed over the border into Hampshire.
But the real success of the memorable weekend was the inspirational people chosen to carry the flame, from 92-year-old Anthony Chivers in Wallisdown to the community volunteers who dedicated their lives to good, and who beamed with pride as they jogged through Poole and Christchurch. And as the torch finally left Dorset, it left communities united by pride that they had for a short time held the light of the world in their hand.
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