Britain's Sailors Looking Forward to Parade
Written by RYA | 10 September 2012
Britain’s sailors are set to be among an estimated 830 Olympic and Paralympic athletes taking part in today’s Our Greatest Team celebration parade in London today.
The British Sailing Team’s seven medal winning crews, including gold medallists Ben Ainslie (Finn) and Helena Lucas (2.4mR), will be among the sailors on Float 15 for the parade, which gets underway from Mansion House at 1.30pm.
The Parade is a public celebration of the record-breaking achievements of Britain’s Olympians and Paralympians at the London 2012 Games. It is organised by the Mayor of London in conjunction with the British Olympic Association and the British Paralympic Association.
No fewer than 21 floats in total – each carrying up to 40 athletes – will travel along Queen Victoria Street and Cannon Street, passing by St Paul's Cathedral, continuing along Fleet Street, past Aldwych and into The Strand, before reaching Trafalgar Square. A big screen at the base of Nelson's Column along with live commentary will allow spectators to cheer on the athletes as the parade makes its way past Trafalgar Square.
After passing Trafalgar Square the athletes will go through Admiralty Arch into The Mall, travelling down to the Queen Victoria Memorial. The area from Admiralty Arch to the Queen Victoria Memorial will be ticketed and reserved for groups who have made an invaluable contribution to the Games and the success of the British athletes at London 2012. These will include 14,000 volunteers, members of the blue light services, military personnel, Team GB and ParalympicsGB coaches and support staff, friends and family of the athletes involved as well as schoolchildren from every London borough.
HOW CAN I WATCH?
BBC
Gabby Logan will presents the live coverage on the BBC, with commentary by Huw Edwards, Tanni Grey-Thompson and Hazel Irvine from 1.25pm
Channel 4
Jon Snow will front Channel 4′s live coverage, with Clare Balding, Iwan Thomas and Rachel Latham capturing the atmosphere as they join the sportsmen and women making their way through the capital, and commentary comes from Krishnan Guru-Murthy. Coverage gets underway at 12.50pm.
Sky
The coverage began on Sunrise from 6am and runs right through to 9pm. Sky 1 will be taking Sky News coverage from 1pm through until 5pm.
Sky News Presenters – Adam Boulton, Stephen Dixon, Gillian Joseph, Sarah Jane Mee, Dermot Murnaghan, Samantha Simmonds, and Jeremy Thompson – will be stationed at key points along the route, as well as on the floats with the athletes themselves. They will be mingling with the crowds as the nation celebrates the achievements of the athletes who featured in the Olympics and Paralympic Games.
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