Olympics celebrations for team GB

Monday 25th August 2008, 11:50AM BST.

Terence Frisch playing William Penny Brookes leads the parade in Much Wenlock Team GB was this afternoon coming home from the Beijing Olympics to a heroes’ welcome.

Britain’s Olympians were flying into Heathrow on a dedicated British Airways Boeing 747 featuring a special gold medal “nose” in celebration of their success.

They boarded the flight just hours after the official handover to London and, as mayor Boris Johnson held the Olympic flag aloft in the Bird’s Nest stadium, Shropshire’s own countdown to the 2012 Games began.

Much Wenlock marked the event with a street party, fireworks, and the raising of an Olympic flag at the Guildhall.

Actor Terence Frisch, dressed in the style of Dr William Penny Brookes, founder of the Wenlock Olympian Games, led a procession to tie in with London’s celebrations where a pop concert was staged in front of Buckingham Palace.

Britain notched up 19 gold medals, 13 silver and 15 bronze.

Olympic gold medallists including Chris Hoy, Rebecca Adlington and Nicole Cooke were being welcomed back to Heathrow.

Organisers warned fans to stay away from the airport and said the public would have an opportunity to mark their homecoming at a victory parade in London in October.

View more: Bridgnorth news, Mid Wales news, North Shropshire news, Oswestry news, South Shropshire news.