Jessica Ennis-Hill To Say Farewell At Olympic And Paralympic Homecoming

Jessica Ennis-Hill To Say Farewell At Olympic And Paralympic Homecoming
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Jessica Ennis-Hill is set to bid farewell to fans later today as Great Britain's Olympic and Paralympic athletes converge on Manchester to celebrate their Rio 2016 achievements.

Ennis-Hill retired from athletics last week at the age of 30 having this summer won heptathlon silver in Brazil to go with her gold from London four years ago.

The two-time former world champion is now poised to make her first public appearance since calling time on her career as hundreds of Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes take to the streets of Manchester city centre.

The event in Manchester is the first of back-to-back 'heroes parades' to toast Great Britain's phenomenal success in Rio, with the second celebration being held in London on Tuesday.

Both British squads finished second in their respective medal tables at this summer's Games.

Team GB collected 27 golds among their medal total of 67 - two more than from London 2012 - for their best-ever haul from an overseas Olympics. The ParalympicsGB squad, meanwhile, returned from South America with 147 medals, including 64 golds.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to turn out for today's parade, which is scheduled to begin at 4.30pm and will last around an hour as it travels through Manchester city centre before finishing at an event in Albert Square.

The athletes, which are set to include the likes of Nicola Adams, Max Whitlock and the Brownlee brothers Alistair and Jonny, will then travel down to London for another celebration on Tuesday.

That will be held in Trafalgar Square from 1pm, and is set to last around 90 minutes, with athletes on stage as well as music and entertainment.