Thursday 19 July 2012

The Olympic Torch Relay comes to town!

It started its journey all over the UK on 19th May, but this Tuesday (17th July), the Olympic Torch Relay finally reached our neck of the woods!

The children were given the afternoon off school, and spent the morning making flags and paper torches to wave in the street. There was some confusion though, as Robbie and Emma seemed to think we were attending 'the Olympics' that afternoon, rather than just seeing the flame.

There was a big party in a local park to celebrate, with free sports for the kids to try:

Sprint
100m space hopper final
Basketball
Robbie's version of the Olympic torch
Then we headed off to a less crowded spot to try to make sure we would actually see the torch as it went past.

Ready!
We found a great spot, and waited for the convoy to arrive. First, the sponsors...




The children cheered and celebrated wildly at the sight of the Coca-Cola bus, and even got excited about seeing Lloyds Bank and Samsung. Then we waited for another 5 minutes or so and finally, there it was, strolling proudly down the road:


This particular torch-bearer was walking, not running, so we had plenty of time to have a good look at the torch and the flame.


And then, a few seconds later, it was gone and that was that! I'm so glad we saw it, as it has really made me, as well as Robbie and Emma, feel excited in anticipation of the games. Can't wait!

8 comments:

  1. Very very fun! Great pictures.

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  2. Very cool afternoon of activities! I love that the kids got to take time away from school but...do they go year-round? Our kids are out all summer! I so wish I could be in London for the marathon. *sigh* What an amazing field of women this year!

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  3. I love all the surrounding hype around the Games - the way all the kids get hooked into the excitement. This is where the dream starts for so many budding Olympians. When we had the Games in Sydney in 2000 the torch relay came through our suburb. There was a change-over spot only 200m from my door and of course we had to go up and have a look. I have photos of the boys holding the Olympic torch - special memories for them all.

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  4. This is very special and not something many get to see and experience. Really awesome! I wonder if we'll ever see the Olympics in Africa?

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  5. How exciting! When the winter Olympics were in Vancouver two years ago, my oldest son, who lives there, just had a blast. He didn't see any live events (oh wait! He did see a hockey game) but mostly hung out on the streets and soaked up the party atmosphere. He said Vancouver just came alive and it was the most fun he's ever had!
    Barbara
    My Running Shortz

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