The man who thought up the Olympics would have been amazed. Dr William Penney Brookes could not have imaged that his idea for a community sporting event would have led to the creation of the Olympic Games.

Nor could he have envisaged the way in which news of the event would have been spread, 202 years after his birth.

The Olympic Torch will pass through Much Wenlock on May 30 next year, sparking huge celebrations. And the announcement that it would definitely pass through Shropshire was communicated to people using the latest technology.

Leader of Shropshire Council, Councillor Keith Barrow, used social media to make people aware of the news, Tweeting within a minute of the announcement.

He said: “It was embargoed until one minute past midnight but at one minute past midnight I Tweeted to tell the rest of Shropshire, and there were a lot of people still up at one minute past midnight. There will be an awful lot of excited people in Shropshire. We’ll never see an opportunity like this in our lifetime, let’s make the most of it.”

An eight minute video, in which locals responded to the news, was created by Paul Hutchinson and Mar Dixon for Virtual Shropshire. Tim King, Tourism Officer for Shropshire Council, arranged media coverage of the event.

Mr King paid tribute to the Wenlock Olympian Society, which has campaigned tirelessly to bring the torch to the town.

He said: “The Olympian society has been absolutely crucial to the whole thing. They’ve maintained that heritage of the link with Dr William Penny Brookes, they run the games every July. They have been wonderful.”

Mayor of Much Wenlock, Councillor Lesley Durbin, said: “I think it’s absolutely thrilling, everyone will be over the moon about it because we’ve been looking forward to this announcement for so long. To us it would be inconceivable that the torch should not come here. We’ll be thrilled when it enters the Gaskill Ground in 2012.”

Councillor Milner Whiteman, from Much Wenlock Town Council, said: “It’s absolutely wonderful news. I was always confident we would get the torch through Much Wenlock and I’m very pleased it’s coming through the town. We are absolutely delighted the place will be on fire when it comes here.”

Peter Thompson, secretary of Wenlock Olympian society, added: “It’s only coming through Wenlock because we worked so hard over a long period, maybe 30 years, to make sure it does.

“That 30 years has been spent getting the story across. This is the legend and this is the truth of it.”