Twenty years ago today, the Sydney Olympics torch relay arrived in Cessnock.
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Cessnock had the honour of hosting the torch overnight on August 29, 2000, and it remains one of the town's biggest events in living memory.
More than 15,000 people turned out for the cauldron lighting ceremony at Turner Park.
Cessnock's Jenny Peel had the honour of carrying the torch into Turner Park and lighting the cauldron.
"It was absolutely fantastic," she recalled.
Ms Peel had grown up nearby at Brandis Street and was heavily involved in sport all of her life - Turner Park was her old "stomping ground".
She competed at state level in athletics; played hockey, basketball, squash and netball, and coached the latter for several years.
Ms Peel's mother nominated her to be a torchbearer after an Olympic Games roadshow visited Cessnock the year before.
"I didn't think any more about it until I got a big envelope in the mail telling me I'd been selected, and I thought, 'you beauty'," she said.
Ms Peel was handed the torch at Cessnock High School and carried it along Aberdare Road to Turner Park for the ceremony.
She couldn't believe the size of the crowd.
"It was phenomenal," she said.
"It was something you won't ever forget."
Hope Morton (nee Tsakissiris) was the support runner who joined Ms Peel for the relay's final leg of the day.
The then-Cessnock High student, now 35, said it was a proud moment.
"I remember running from Kearsley into Aberdare and seeing thousands of people from the Cessnock community standing along the roadside cheering on the torch relay runners, all the way into Turner Park," Ms Morton said.
"The cheers got louder as we entered Turner Park with the torch.
"From the stage, where the cauldron was lit, the crowd was packed like sardines and spanned all the way back to the roadside.
"It was such a huge celebration for our town and I'm still grateful to this day for the opportunity to have been part of such a historical event."
The ceremony also included performances by local singers, choirs, dancers and aerobics groups.
Cessnock singer Tara Naysmith said she remembers the occasion vividly.
"I remember there being such a buzz in town about the relay and the fact that Cessnock was getting to host a party to celebrate," she said.
"I also remember being so incredibly excited that I was getting to sing at the event.
"On the night the community came together in huge numbers and I will never forget the feeling of stepping on to that stage with 15,000 people in the audience who were just so happy to be there and be a part of the special night, the applause from the crowd was amazing.
"Singing at the party has always remained one of my most memorable career highlights."
The next morning hundreds of people braved the winter chill and lined the streets of Cessnock, Weston and Kurri Kurri to see the torch up close as it made its way to Maitland.
Did you see the torch relay in Cessnock City? Send your photos and memories to krystal.sellars@cessnockadvertiser.com.au for inclusion in our gallery.
