Team GB set for heroes' welcome after historic 2016 Rio Olympics
By Mark Ashenden
Last Updated: 23/08/16 10:40am
Team GB's athletes have landed back in the UK in a gold-nosed jumbo jet following their best Olympics in more than a century.
Their flight from Rio - on a customised Boeing 747 with "victoRIOus" emblazoned on the side and 320 athletes and support staff on board - arrived at Heathrow Airport in sunny conditions shortly before 10am on Tuesday morning.
Britain won 67 medals at the games - two more than in London four years ago - and the haul of 27 golds, 23 silvers and 17 bronzes was the nation's biggest medal count in more than a century. The athletes can now look forward to victory parades and royal honours as reward for their success.
The Prime Minister Theresa May has announced there will be a parade in Manchester and a further event in London in October.
Downing Street also said there would be "no formal cap" on the number of honours after their "amazing two weeks" that can be handed out to Team GB medal winners.
Those members of the squad who stayed in Rio for Sunday night's closing ceremony waved goodbye to Rio on Monday as they enjoyed a party atmosphere travelling with medals round their necks and posing for selfies with their British Airways pilot and flight crew.
Rowing gold medalist Helen Glover tweeted that the team had stood and "belted out" the national anthem as it played over the plane's tannoy before take-off.
The jet - which will also be ferrying pole vaults, javelins, bicycles and a 6.7 metre sail back from Brazil - was loaded with 77 extra champagne bottles and treats for team members, who were offered a three-course menu.
They will face the media at a news conference shortly after landing.
Team GB's historic success at the Games saw their biggest medal haul in a century with 27 golds, 23 silvers and 17 bronzes.
The team's performances drew praise from the Queen and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The sovereign offered her "warmest congratulations" for an "remarkable achievement".
The Duke and Duchess, meanwhile, lauded the team's achievement as an "inspiration to us all, young and old".
