After the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations last month, Oxfordshire will now welcome the Olympic Torch.

The flame will visit Bicester, Kirtlington, Woodstock and Blenheim Palace, Kidlington and Oxford on Monday and thousands of people are expected to line the streets of towns, villages and the city to see its arrival.

Blenheim’s gates will open at 1.30pm free and the torch is expected to pass through the stately home’s grounds at about 3.40pm.

In Oxford, the focus will be on a major evening event being held at South Park, before the torch sets off on Tuesday, visiting Abingdon and Wallingford.

Seeing the Olympic flame will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and people from across the county should go along to get a glimpse of the torch if they can fit it into their busy schedules.

School pupils are sure to get a boost from seeing the torch relay come past — and it could inspire them to take more interest in the London Olympics and get involved in more sports.

The 70-day relay started at Land’s End in Cornwall in May and has been working its way around 8,000 miles of the UK to London. It is a once-in-lifetime opportunity and we encourage as many people to turn out as possible.

You can either be cynical about these showcase events which are designed to bring people together and build community spirit, or you can embrace them with open arms.

Oxfordshire showed wonderful community spirit as it celebrated the Jubilee and now we hope the district will show its Olympic spirit.

If you do decide to go along and see the Olympic Torch, you will need to plan your journey and find a good viewing point along the route because the relay is certain to attract many thousands of followers.

And the torch will not be in the county for long, so check the schedule carefully.

It should be a great week of events in Oxfordshire — we just hope the weather holds out.