The moment it was announced there would be a Team GB Parade through London, I knew I would be there! I never usually go to things like this as I prefer to watch it on TV, but this was different! This was the end to an amazing summer of sports and a chance to celebrate the amazing athletes of Team GB and Paralympics GB! I planned the day right down to very last detail to make sure I had the best time and it worked, cos I had an amazing time!
I left my house with my son, Owen at 8am and after a couple of minor issues getting up there, managed to find my way to Queen Victoria Street by 9am, four and a half hours before the parade was due to begin! I had convinced myself that when I got there I would either be the only one stupid enough to arrive that early or there would be loads of people to stop me getting a front row view! I was so wrong! There was a handful of people lurking about but not too many to stop me getting a great place to view the parade. I chose a spot opposite the junction with Poultry (yes that is the name of the street!), right on the edge of the pavement, with a good view of the corner from which the parade would begin!
Four hours sped by! Keeping Owen occupied was easy and he didn't even watch the parade in the end! I chatted to a number of other fans and even gamesmakers! Slowly throughout the morning the crowd began to swell! I breathed a sigh of relief when Jon and Charlie turned up as not long after the crowds got crazy! On the lead up to the parade, the crowds would cheer everything going past, from joggers to the police riding past on their motorbikes! Charlie got a cheer when he ran down the road back to Daddy! He loved it so much, he kept on wanting to going running back and forth! A Paralympic Torchbearer had brought his torch and ran along and allowed people to have photos with it! And a Policeman even did Usain Bolt's famous pose! And we even got an impromptu performance from some of the Olympic Ceremonies performers! It was hard to get bored in those four hours! Though the funniest moment came from our Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who came cycling down the road to huge cheers, then stopping to speak a policeman, who seemed to be pointing him the way!
Finally it was time! Led by the Police on motorbikes and horses, the parade began! Two huge Lions' heads, similar to that of the Chinese Dragons began to move dancing to the music of the amazing band, playing "London Calling". Then the huge floats arrived, with the athletes with had been waiting for! 21 floats, arranged in alphabetical order by Sports, with around 700 athletes!
It only took fifteen minutes for the floats to go past us but it felt so much quicker! The crowds went crazy cheering for the athletes, some going as far as screaming out their names just so they could get a photo! (I was not one of them but I got a couple of photos thanks to those people!) Charlie was waving to each athlete and luckily some waved back which made him so happy! Just as we thought the parade was over, a small group of Gamesmakers came marching up behind and from what I found out later, the number swelled as the parade progressed. They were given as big a cheer as the athletes did!
My early start and long wait was well worth it! We had a great spot and got to be part of what was the biggest parade in the history of London, if the numbers they reported are to believed (and I do believe!).
I left my house with my son, Owen at 8am and after a couple of minor issues getting up there, managed to find my way to Queen Victoria Street by 9am, four and a half hours before the parade was due to begin! I had convinced myself that when I got there I would either be the only one stupid enough to arrive that early or there would be loads of people to stop me getting a front row view! I was so wrong! There was a handful of people lurking about but not too many to stop me getting a great place to view the parade. I chose a spot opposite the junction with Poultry (yes that is the name of the street!), right on the edge of the pavement, with a good view of the corner from which the parade would begin!
Four hours sped by! Keeping Owen occupied was easy and he didn't even watch the parade in the end! I chatted to a number of other fans and even gamesmakers! Slowly throughout the morning the crowd began to swell! I breathed a sigh of relief when Jon and Charlie turned up as not long after the crowds got crazy! On the lead up to the parade, the crowds would cheer everything going past, from joggers to the police riding past on their motorbikes! Charlie got a cheer when he ran down the road back to Daddy! He loved it so much, he kept on wanting to going running back and forth! A Paralympic Torchbearer had brought his torch and ran along and allowed people to have photos with it! And a Policeman even did Usain Bolt's famous pose! And we even got an impromptu performance from some of the Olympic Ceremonies performers! It was hard to get bored in those four hours! Though the funniest moment came from our Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who came cycling down the road to huge cheers, then stopping to speak a policeman, who seemed to be pointing him the way!
Finally it was time! Led by the Police on motorbikes and horses, the parade began! Two huge Lions' heads, similar to that of the Chinese Dragons began to move dancing to the music of the amazing band, playing "London Calling". Then the huge floats arrived, with the athletes with had been waiting for! 21 floats, arranged in alphabetical order by Sports, with around 700 athletes! 
It only took fifteen minutes for the floats to go past us but it felt so much quicker! The crowds went crazy cheering for the athletes, some going as far as screaming out their names just so they could get a photo! (I was not one of them but I got a couple of photos thanks to those people!) Charlie was waving to each athlete and luckily some waved back which made him so happy! Just as we thought the parade was over, a small group of Gamesmakers came marching up behind and from what I found out later, the number swelled as the parade progressed. They were given as big a cheer as the athletes did!
My early start and long wait was well worth it! We had a great spot and got to be part of what was the biggest parade in the history of London, if the numbers they reported are to believed (and I do believe!).
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