March 15 was a landmark date on the London 2012 calendar that saw a huge wave of excitement descend upon the country as the Olympic tickets went on sale with just 500 days to go to the Games.

There was arguably, even more excitement for over 500 young people in Leicester and Leicestershire as they took part in our local 500 days to go celebrations, a torch relay from the county to the city using the original 1948 London Olympic torch.

Our day started at Loughborough College, where our team incorporating young leaders from Flames: Lighting the Way, a London 2012 Inspire Mark project, assisted students from RNIB College Loughborough in starting off the relay. The torch relay came to a close at Leicester City Football Club with one final lap of the pitch with club ambassador Alan Birchenall and students from the Leicester Tigers Study Support Centre, cheered on by Foxes boss Sven-Goran Eriksson and supported by a Taiko drumming group from Humphrey Perkins School.

You may be exhausted just reading about the events so far, but we didn't stop there. Following the torch relay we launched straight into a conference to celebrate the work of our schools and colleges that are already part of the Get Set Network. The conference was designed to allow other local schools and colleges that have yet to take that step, see firsthand how the Get Set programme and the Olympic and Paralympic values have a positive impact on the lives of young people, thanks to case studies from Folville Junior School, The Robert Smyth School and Burleigh College, in addition to the numerous schools and colleges that formed our exhibition area.


We were also very lucky to have a number of special guests with us on the day from the world of sport including Paralympic Gold medallist and current F44/46 discus world record holder, Dan Greaves who spoke about his experiences as an elite level athlete, Wells Sport Foundation Ambassador and triathlete Katie Ingram, and two young hopefuls in the form of Leicestershire and Rutland Sport Go Gold Ambassadors Michael Reeve and Fiona McGoram, who all spoke about their 2012 Games aspirations.

It is very difficult to put into the words the overwhelming success of the day and the personal pride that I felt in helping so many young people to have their own personal 2012 Games experience and hopefully to have inspired them to create their own 2012 Games legacy, so I would urge you to take a look at our highlights video that really brings the day to life.

Among the youngsters to run with the torch was 10-year-old Yasirah Mota. She said: "I feel really happy to see the torch and it's really sentimental and exciting, I think the Olympics is really interesting so I'm looking forward to it." Her friend, Huda Mustafa, 10, said: "It's very interesting stuff. I am so excited." Alderson Edwards, 11, was also delighted to carry the torch. He said: "I watched the Beijing Olympics and really enjoyed it so it's going to be good having the Olympics next year in London."I'm astounded to see the torch and do the relay race."

Dan Mitchinson is the 2012 Games Legacy Co-ordinator at Leicestershire County Council. To see a video of the day click here.