London parade gives the public a last chance to cheer 'our greatest team'

Children wave their Union Jack flags outside Buckingham Palace (PA)

The stadium is closed and the curtains have descended but there's still one last chance to savour our sensational summer of sport.

This afternoon a flotilla of 21 buses will carry more than 700 of our athletes through the centre of London in a final farewell to what has been dubbed "Our Greatest Team". Olympian greats such as Sir Chris Hoy, Jessica Ennis and Mo Farrah will stand side by side with their Paralympic colleagues in a parade which is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of spectators.

The public are being encouraged to come down and line the route which runs from Mansion House to Trafalgar Square and finishes at Buckingham Palace. Sections of Trafalgar Square and the length of the Mall are ticketed and have been reserved for some of the 14,000 volunteers who helped out during both games. However members of the public can line the rest of the route which starts at Mansion House, travels down Queen Victoria Street and Cannon Street, passes by St Paul's Cathedral and continues along Fleet Street and the Strand, before reaching Trafalgar Square.

To avoid any one sport stealing the limelight, the flotillas will travel down the route in alphabetical order meaning Britain's archers will be the first off the blocks whilst our water polo teams will be last.

Olympians that have been confirmed for the 1.30pm parade include Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford, Anthony Joshua, Chris Hoy, Jason Kenny, Laura Trott, Victoria Pendleton, Charlotte Dujardin, Katherine Grainger, Ben Ainslie, Peter Wilson and Alistair Brownlee. ParalympicsGB stars such as Hannah Cockcroft, Jody Cundy, Sophie Christiansen and Jonnie Peacock are also taking part.

Organisers have warned spectators to get to their places along the route early and pack plenty of sun cream and water. Because so many people are expected to line the route it will not be possible to follow the parade throughout its length. Those intending to come have been urged to take public transport rather than flood London with cars. The parade will also be broadcast on both the BBC, Channel 4 and Sky.