HUNDREDS of visitors played their part as the Basildon Sporting Village played host to the Basildon leg of Sparks will Fly yesterday.
Celebrating the forthcoming Olympics, the Play your Part Festival saw over 350 primary school children take to the track as they competed in an Olympic themed mini games.
Dance and gymnastics were celebrated, as a packed Main Hall saw schools from across the borough participate in a dance and gymnastics festival.
And bands and dance groups performed throughout the afternoon and evening, before the Sparks Will Fly procession arrived, and champion ‘Boreas’ collected a giant bead representing Basildon.
Part of the London 2012 Olympic Festival, the Sparks Will Fly procession will visit each borough or district in Essex, with one of two mystical champions collecting a specially designed bead, before they are brought together at a large event at Hylands Park on 6 July.
Councillor Tony Ball, leader of Basildon Council said: “The Sparks will fly procession was a bit unusual, but the crowd really got into the swing of things and enjoyed the fun and the sunshine.
The aim was to bring sport and culture together and to give the people the opportunity to play their part in the celebrations, and we saw this throughout the day with hundreds of young people participating.
This event has really started the countdown to the Torch Relay which will be arriving in the town in just a matter of weeks on the 6 July.”
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