Let's take a look back at when the much-anticipated Olympics in Weymouth didn't quite go to plan.

With an extra 60,000 people expected in Weymouth and Portland while the area hosted the sailing events, plans were drawn up in precise detail.

Some 550 volunteer Olympic ambassadors were enlisted to help visitors. 

But despite all the meticulous preparation, not everything went quite to plan...

Festival failure

 

A map of Weymouth Bayside Festival A map of Weymouth Bayside Festival (Image: Supplied)

The Bayside Festival village was set up on the Weymouth Pavilion site as part of the attractions during the Olympic fortnight but was shut down after a week with organisers blaming poor visitor numbers.

The centrepiece of the festival was the main arena featuring two music stages, where more than 200 live music acts were due to appear over the two-week period.

Bayside Festival site at Weymouth PavilionBayside Festival site at Weymouth Pavilion (Image: NQ)

There was also a retail village with bars and food courts, day-time street theatre including fire eaters, jugglers, ventriloquists and magicians, a traditional fairground, art exhibitions, marching and big bands, sea cat helicopters and jazz quartets.

Among the big names appearing at the troubled festival were former teen heart-throb Chesney Hawkes and post-hardcore Welsh band Funeral for a Friend, whose gig was transferred to Weymouth Pavilion after the festival closed suddenly.

We weren't exactly besieged by visitors

An estimated 60,000 visitors a day were expected to descend on Weymouth and Portland.

But that wasn't quite the case.

A statement from the aforementioned Bayside Festival organisers on Twitter blamed the site closure on 'dire' visitor numbers.

Front page of the Dorset Echo at the start of the OlympicsFront page of the Dorset Echo at the start of the Olympics (Image: NQ)

It was claimed that predictions of traffic congestion – with warning signs as far away as Southampton and Bristol warning motorists of delays – scared people away.

The signs were hastily changed to: ‘Weymouth 2012 games No Delays’ in a bid to get more people to come.

READ MORE: How the 2012 Olympics changed Weymouth and Portland

Park and Ride sites at Monkey’s Jump and Kingston Maurward, with a combined capacity of 5,235 stood virtually empty at times

The traffic warning signs were hastily amended The traffic warning signs were hastily amended (Image: NQ)

Olympic organisers then launched a ‘Come to Weymouth’ strategy.

Tweeters posted ‘Come to Weymouth’ tweets on social networking Twitter (now X) in a bid to attract people to the resort.

Fantastic views of the olympic sailing and the Jurassic Coast #cometoweymouth pic.twitter.com/eyvyKH85

Butcher Dennis Spurr with his Olympic rings signButcher Dennis Spurr with his Olympic rings sign (Image: DORSET MEDIA SERVICE)

A  Weymouth butcher became embroiled in a row over Olympic bangers.

Dennis Spurr of the Fantastic Sausage Factory in St Mary Street erected a five-ring 2012 Olympic sign showing the games logo illustrated with sausages.

But Olympic officials failed to see the funny side and ordered him to take it down.

Dennis replaced it with five Olympic-style sausage squares and a new 2013 date.

Olympic officials claimed the new sign also breached Olympic copyright and warned Dennis he could still face prosecution.

He said: "I don't want any trouble. I only did the signs for a bit of fun.
"It seems that there is not much fun with the Olympics and I think a bit of the spirit of the event has died."