This Friday the Olympic Torch visited both Rochford and Southend during its 70 day tour around the UK, bringing with it the excitement of the Olympic Games.
Lit in Greece, from the sun's rays at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, the Olympic flame arrived in the UK on 18th May 2012. Since then it has travelled the country visiting well known landmarks in Cornwall, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Olympic flame, which represents peace, unity and friendship will travel 8000 miles before arriving at the Olympic Park on 27th July, marking the official start of the Games.
The torch travelled across Rochford District and Southend before heading off to Basildon and then onto Chelmsford. The communities across Rochford and Southend East all took part in the celebrations, hundreds of people turned out to see to see this once in a life time event as the torch made its journey across the constituency.
There was entertainment throughout the morning from local community groups and street entertainment. There was a fantastic performance from a 2000 strong choir. Unfortunately the weather was not as nice as it could have been but even the rain didn’t dampen peoples spirits, nor did the flame go out, I did take my matches with me just in case!
There are less than three weeks until the Olympic games start and lets not forget that we have the mountain biking taking place here in South Essex, there is lots to look forward to.