Manchester And London To Stage Two-Day Olympic And Paralympic Celebration

Manchester And London To Stage Two-Day Olympic And Paralympic Celebration

Britain's Olympic and Paralympic athletes will stage a parade in Manchester on October 17 to celebrate their success at the Rio 2016 Games.

It will be followed by a grand celebration in London the following day. Full details of the two-day celebration have yet to be released.

Sports minister Tracey Crouch said: "I know that Manchester - a city with a rich sporting history - and London - with its strong links with the Olympic and Paralympic Games - will host brilliant celebrations that will give the British public a chance to say thank you to our amazing athlete heroes."

Team GB's chef de mission Mark England said: "This will be a very proud moment for all Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes and rich reward for such fantastic efforts at the recent Games in Rio."

Britain confirmed its place as a sporting powerhouse by coming second in both the Olympic and Paralympic medal tables.

Olympic cycling's golden couple Jason Kenny and Laura Trott, runner Mo Farah, and swimmer Adam Peaty, plus Paralympic champions Dame Sarah Storey, Kadeena Cox, Jonnie Peacock, Lee Pearson and Will Bayley are among the sporting heroes from Rio 2016.

Britain's Olympic athletes won 27 golds from 15 sports, and 67 medals in total, smashing UK Sport's pre-Games target of at least 48 medals, meaning Rio was the nation's most successful "away" Games.

ParalympicsGB won 64 golds, the most by a British team since 1988, and a total of 147 medals.

Chef de mission Penny Briscoe said the team delivered "an amazing, awe-inspiring performance", from "the most competitive team at the most competitive Games".

She said: "We know those performances have excited and energised the public back home and so it is right and fitting that in both Manchester and London the athletes will receive a welcome from those cities and the public can see some of their heroes back on home soil.

"We believe that the performances of our athletes help to inspire a better world for disabled people."

Manchester, the home of British Cycling and taekwondo and the ParalympicsGB swimming team, is the ideal place to hold a national parade, according to Manchester City Council deputy leader Sue Murphy.

She said: "We look forward to welcoming people from all over the country for a spectacular celebration of the achievements of our Olympic and Paralympic heroes and to share in an unforgettable day. Maybe seeing the stars of Rio on our streets will inspire spectators to follow their own sporting dreams and become the medallists of the future."

Members of the history-making ParalympicsGB squad are due to arrive back at London's Heathrow airport on Tuesday morning.

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