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By Joanna Shaw
Featured image: @MMUSport
The Great British Olympic heroes were welcomed home in style by the people of Manchester on Tuesday. The Olympic parade began outside the Museum of Science and Industry on Liverpool Road, with buses carrying the teams of GB Olympians and Paralympians through the city streets towards a huge party in Albert Square.
The Olympians were welcomed by a huge crowd of spectators and a live performance from the Kaiser Chiefs, who headlined the main stage, standing in for Olly Murs at the last minute. Playing their popular song ‘Ruby’, they encouraged the crowd and the Olympic stars to chant along. Another highlight of the event was a performance from X Factor’s Rebecca Ferguson.
2016 has been the most successful Olympics so far for Team GB. In total, the Olympians and Paralympians have won a staggering 214 medals; 91 golds, 62 silvers and 61 bronzes, beating their own record from London 2012. The headline name at the parade was Jessica Ennis Hill, who has recently announced that she will be retiring. In a statement to the crowd, she said, “[The parade] was incredible. We can’t thank you enough for the support you’ve given us for this year and so many years. For you to all come out in this weather and cheer for us is amazing.”
Even the heavy rain, as Team GB neared Albert Square, did not spoil the upbeat mood of the day. Instead, the athletes donned plastic ponchos and danced along to the music.
Edward Cuss from Poynton was glad that the rain didn’t put the 150,000 strong crowd off the festivities. He said, “The parade was great! It’s good that Manchester is recognised as a great sporting hub, there hasn’t been this much attention to sporting events here since the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
“It’s also nice to see that such a big crowd has turned out, even though it’s throwing it down!”
Indeed, the weather did nothing to dampen Manchester’s sporting spirit as the Team GB welcome home party carried on long into the evening.
Joanna is a first year MA student in Multimedia Journalism. Check out her blog booklifereads.tumblr.com, or follow her on Twitter @booklifereads.
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