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Team arrive back at Heathrow Airport
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Great Britain's triumphant Olympic team returned home from China on Monday on board a British Airways plane with a specially-commissioned golden nose cone.
The athletes finished fourth in the medal table, behind only China, America and Russia, with a total haul of 19 golds, 13 silver and 15 bronze - Britain's best medal haul since 1908.
Having touched down shortly after 3pm at Heathrow Airport, the team were greeted by Prime Minister Gordon Brown as they departed the plane.
As well as the gold nose cone, the aircraft - renamed Pride after the British lion mascot - had the message "Proud to bring our British heroes home" emblazoned on the fuselage.
With a victory parade for the athletes planned for October, fans had been urged to stay away from the airport on Monday.
However, Team GB were still afforded a rapturous reception from staff at the airport with gold medallist rower Steve Williams commenting: "We were looking out of the windows and everyone at Heathrow was waving flags."
Following their superb performance in Beijing, the countdown to the 2012 Games in London now begins in earnest.
At Sunday's spectacular closing ceremony Mayor of London Boris Johnson received the Olympic flag from his Beijing counterpart, while billions of people around the world watched London's special eight-minute segment which offered a preview of what sports fans can expect in 2012.
Handover flags were hoisted at more than 700 venues around the world, including more than 400 in UK towns as part of civic ceremonies to welcome the 2012 Olympics and London staged an event to celebrate the hand-over.
Thousands of supporters gathered outside Buckingham Palace in the Mall to watch and were treated to a host of music acts, appearances from Olympians including Bradley Wiggins, Phillips Idowu and Michael Phelps, a fly-over from the Red Arrows and a live link-up with the closing ceremony in China during the show.
