Today at 13.30 BST Central London will witness a celebration of Britain’s sporting heroes, as a victory parade which will have the Olympics and Paralympics stars march through the streets, with a millions of spectators thronging to watch the spectacle.

“The Greatest Team Parade”, as it is being called, will have around 800 British Olympic and Paralympic athletes including Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis, Hannah Cockcroft and Jonnie Peacock, travel on 21 open-top floats, grouped in alphabetical order by their sport. Almost all winners of the two Games are said to participate in the parade.

Extensive road closures and diversions have been notified by the organisers around the route of the parade, starting from Guildhall, in the City of London, and ending at The Mall.

Near Trafalgar Square at the base of Nelson’s Column, a giant screen with live commentary is being set up, for fans to cheer their favourites. An area along The Mall, overlooking the parade finish, has been reserved for behind-the-scenes contributors including 14,000 volunteers, members of the emergency services, military personnel, competitors’ coaches, support staff, family and friends, as well as school children across all London schools.

The schedule for the event includes a flypast over The Mall, led by the British Airways plane that brought the Olympic flame to the UK and also featuring the Red Arrows.

London Mayor Boris Johnson said, “This summer our great city has hosted an unbelievable spectacle of sport and thousands will want to celebrate the achievements of our athletes by coming to the parade. It promises to be an incredible afternoon but I do want to remind people coming that we expect the route to be extremely busy and planning ahead is absolutely crucial if they are going to be able to make the most of their day.”

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