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Manchester's rain fails to dampen the spirit of Olympic glory

Xinhua, October 18, 2016 Adjust font size:

Manchester, the northern England city famed for its rainy days, hosted a victory parade Monday for Britain's Olympic and Paralympic heroes.

More than 150,000 people of all ages, many holding umbrellas, lined streets on a downtown route as over 350 team members headed in a parade to Albert Square, the city's traditional gathering point outside the town hall.

Among those watching the athletes from Rio was Prime Minister Theresa May who put forward the idea of Manchester hosting the event.

Olympic and Paralympic stars, including Jessica Ennis-Hill, gold medal-winning flyweight boxer Nicola Adams, five-time gold-medal winning Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds and the Brownlee brothers, triathletes Alistair and Jonny took part along with hundreds of other Olympians, including women's hockey team will be amongst the roster of athletes being celebrated.

Team GB set an Olympic record in Rio 2016 by winning 67 medals - two more than they managed at London 2012. The British Paralympians also beat their previous performance with 147 medals, 27 more than four years ago in London.

The parade set off from outside the Museum of Science and Industry, making its way to the heart of the city, along busy Deansgate,one of Manchester's main shopping areas.

In Albert Square there was a carnival atmosphere, with tens of thousands cheering the athletes who gathered on a huge stage.

A huge sign hailed the event as the "Heroes Parade" with the iconic anthem, Heroes, was sung by Rebecca Ferguson.

The Brownlee brothers summed up the feelings of the athletes. "It's been fantastic. The support has been absolutely fantastic. So many people cheering you on is brilliant," they said.

The brothers caused a sensation in Rio when exhausted Jonny Brownlee needed to be helped over the finish line by his brother Alistair in a dramatic end to the Triathlon World Series.

The celebrations move to London on Tuesday with an event in Trafalgar Square when Britain's heroes from Brazil will again be hailed. Endit