Ed Miliband used the spirit of the London Olympics to explain his vision of a 'One Nation' Britain - by saying athletes like Mo Farah were 'a true hero for our country.'
During his powerfully delivered speech to the Labour conference Miliband said: "Just think about the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It was a triumph for Britain.
"Why did we succeed? We succeeded because of our outstanding athletes, from Zara Phillips, the granddaughter of a parachuting Queen, to a boy born in Somalia called Mo Farah - a true hero for our country."
The Olympics were also a success because of the contributions of thousands of volunteers, troops and police, and because of the efforts of those who initially fought for the London 2012 bid, including Sebastian Coe and Dame Tessa Jowell, said Mr Miliband.
And he added: "We succeeded because of us - us, the British people, who welcomed the athletes from abroad, who cheered them on, who found ourselves talking to each other each morning about what had happened in the Olympics the night before in a way we hadn't talked to each other before.
"We succeeded because we came together as a country, we worked together as a country, we joined together as a country. That is why we achieved more than we imagined possible."
Mr Miliband said: "I can't remember a time like it in the whole history of my lifetime. I can't remember a time like it. That sense of a country united, that sense of a country that felt it was together.
"That is the spirit this Labour Party believes in."