It was the day a single, golden flame pierced the Hampshire gloom and brought tens of thousands of people to a rapturous standstill.
The Olympic torch relay turned Southampton and surrounding areas into a giant carnival of national pride in July 2012.
On day 57 of the epic relay, the flame travelled from the coastal fringes of Bournemouth, through the New Forest and arrived for an historic overnight stay in Southampton.
The numbers who turned out were colossal, with crowds five or six deep on pavements, packed with union flags, makeshift blow-up torches and an inescapable sense of community spirit.
The New Forest leg was a thrilling experience of British stoicism in the face of adversity as heavy rain lashed the towns and villages.
In Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst and Lymington umbrellas were held aloft and thousands refused to let the summer downpour dampen their once-in-a-lifetime moment.
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People created their own viewing banks, cheered passing fire engines while they waited and enjoyed a party atmosphere of morris dancing and impromptu street spectacle – as they proved that not even flooded roads could quell Olympic fever before the torch continued to Hurst Castle and a ferry to the Isle of Wight.
When the torch finally re-crossed the water back into Southampton it was taken by 16 different local heroes along a crowded route from the Red Funnel ferry terminal.
It flared its way past historic buildings, through the old town, under the Bargate and through the Above Bar precinct.
Sports fans had a crossover moment of magic when the relay arrived at St Mary's Stadium and completed a circuit of the pitch during half-time in the Saints' friendly match for the Markus Liebherr Memorial Trophy.
The city’s momentous day ended in Mayflower Park, where local torchbearer Gill Rose was given the ultimate honour of lighting the official evening cauldron in front of thousands of frenzied well-wishers.
The party ran long into the night, but the Olympic extravaganza wasn’t over yet, as the Civic Centre clock’s chiming of six the very next morning heralded the immediate restart of the relay, with expedition runner Michael Stroud leading the charge away from the Guildhall.
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The early start did little to deter the determined crowds which lined London Road and The Avenue.
Dedicated early-rising locals mixed with bleary-eyed revellers making their way home from their Saturday nights, raising their cans to salute their early-morning spectacle.
The torch was then whisked away from Southampton Airport for a brief Channel Islands tour, before returning to a sunny, barbecue-heavy celebration in Fareham, after an astonishing 12-hour imprint on our streets.
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