BRIDPORT will be flying the flag when the Olympic torch relay heads through town on July 12.

The Spirit of Bridport aims to stage a good show with flags and bunting for the procession but also to keep it up for a host of events being held throughout the summer.

Dorset boasts one of the most extensive routes for the Olympic flame.

Community leaders in more than 40 villages and towns en route are now making preparations to ensure they are ready to welcome the procession.

Councillor Ros Kayes, who is co-chairman of the Spirit of Bridport, said: “We are proposing to really decorate the town well, by replacing some of the lacklustre bunting of recent years and adding in new flags to celebrate the Jubilee, the torch and the summer Festival of Culture which will run from August 11 to 27.”

The Olympic torch relay will pass through Dorset on July 12 and 13 to herald the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the end of the month.

Trevor Chambers, 69, of Morcombelake, is among the 8,000 inspirational torchbearers chosen to carry the flame.

The decorations for the torch relay in Bridport will remain up during the summer.

Plans are also afoot to involve schools as well as community groups in the journey of the torch through the town.

Coun Kayes added: “People are a bit cynical at the moment but I think everyone will be getting Olympic fever come the summer.

“Children in particular will be getting excited.

“It is a once in a lifetime event and we are really lucky that the torch will be coming through our town.

“We’ll be asking everyone to get the ticker tape out.”

Plans are also being made to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on National Big Lunch Day with proposals for a street party the length of South Street on Sunday, June 3.

Meanwhile, in Abbotsbury, workshops are underway to create 60 large decorated sails for when the Olympic torch relay passes through on Thursday, July 12.

The display will form an outdoor art gallery until the end of the Paralympics on September 9.

Organiser Sue Melville said: “The last workshop was an extraordinary evening, with all of us being amazed at the designs and ideas everyone was sharing.

“The enthusiasm was catching, especially now we’ve cracked the problem of how to get the paint to stick on ripstop, nothing can stop us – we’re raring to go.”

Official overnight celebrations on Weymouth Beach on July 12 and in Bournemouth on July 13, are among just 66 overnight stop locations during the flame’s 70-day journey around the United Kingdom to reach London Olympic Stadium on July 27.

l HOW will your community be welcoming the Olympic flame? We want to hear from you for the Dorset Echo’s Going for Gold pages.

Call Laura Kitching on 01305 830984 or email laura.kitching@dorsetecho.co.uk