Gather around the fire - Telegraph The Olympic flame has come to Britain - and is beginning to light up the country. Brought from Olympia, site of the ancient games, it will be carried 8,000 miles around Britain by 8,000 torchbearers, before it reaches the opening ceremony in London on July 27. It is inspiring to think that the torch is going to pass through more than a thousand of our cities, towns and villages. As we report today, it is already spreading a wave of excitement and delight through Cornwall, where its long trek began at Land's End. Some onlookers found that its arrival moved them to tears. It also appears, as if by sympathetic magic, to be bringing the long-absent heat of summer to our cloud-wrapped islands. The fire of the Olympic spirit is not to be put out, or possessed: it is a common treasure. But the physical torches (8,000 of them, one for each bearer) are a different matter. One is already being offered on eBay, with a current bid of £1,550 - setting a new world record for a dash to the marketplace, perhaps. But we think the enrichment that the Olympic flame promises for the people of this country is beyond price.