2012 Olympic cauldron lighter Jordan Duckitt says 'it was a dream'

A Lincolnshire teenager who helped light the London 2012 Games cauldron during the opening ceremony has described the moment as "unbelievable".

Jordan Duckitt, 18, a former head boy of Caistor Grammar School, was one of seven young people chosen to bear the flame.

The young British athletes who lit the cauldron were each nominated by UK Olympic champions.

"I still can't believe it now - it's just a dream," Jordan said.

"Everyone was just so alive last night. I'd do it a 100 times over.

"It was electric you could really just feel so much emotion in the air. The adrenaline kept us going. It was unbelievable."

Jordan chaired the London 2012 Young Ambassadors Steering group for two years and was selected by Duncan Goodhew.

"[Duncan had] seen some of the work I'd done and he picked up on that", said Jordan.

"He had the chance to nominate a young person to be part of that greatest show in earth and very, very luckily I got that place."

The identity of who was to perform the symbolic act had been shrouded in secrecy ahead of the ceremony.

The seven teenagers each lit a single tiny flame, igniting 205 copper "petals", one for each competing nation or territory.

Londoner Thomas Heatherwick designed the concept - and the petals are set to burn throughout the games.

The petals were inscribed with each delegation's name and "XXX Olympiad London 2012".

After being ignited they rose on long stems to converge and form a cauldron signifying unity and peace.

The Olympic torch was brought to the stadium along the Thames in a speedboat by David Beckham, who then passed it to five-time Olympic gold medallist rower Sir Steve Redgrave.

He was met by the nominated young athletes, who ran along the stadium track before being joined by the six other Olympic winners who had selected them.