Britain: goodbye to Games with victory parade

Britain was bidding a fond farewell Monday to a golden summer of Olympic and Paralympic sport with a victory parade by athletes through London ending up at Buckingham Palace. Tens of thousands of people were expected to line the streets through the centre of the capital, including the army of volunteers who worked on the Games, to cheer on Britain's medal-winning heroes. Sunday night's Paralympics closing ceremony extinguished the flame in the Olympic Stadium, bringing the curtain down with a spectacular celebration of the human spirit, amid claims the Games had led to a "seismic" shift in attitudes towards disability. Coldplay, Rihanna and Jay-Z headlined a three-hour "Festival of the Flame" in front of 80,000 spectators, complete with flame-throwers, fantastical vehicles and stunning aerial acrobatics. Prime Minister David Cameron, surrounded by volunteers in their purple and orange shirts, said Monday it had been a golden summer for Britain, with the Games following celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee. "For countries to succeed in this competitive and difficult world, you need to have confidence that you can do big things and get them right... that you can take on the best, be the best, beat the best," Cameron said. "We've absolutely done that as a country. "Once the celebration has ended, some of that spirit inevitably will fade as everyone knuckes down and gets back to work after this magical summer. "But I think we'll always have that knowledge of what we can be as a country. "This summer brought out the best in Britain for the world to see and that spirit we must cling to." The parade was to begin at Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London, before passing St Paul's Cathedral, the former newspaper industry headquarters Fleet Street, and Trafalgar Square. The athletes, travelling on 21 open-top floats grouped in alphabetical order by their sport, were then to head down The Mall, the processional route leading to Buckingham Palace, the queen's residence in London. The Mall will be open to 14,000 ticket-holding volunteers, the emergency services and the military who worked on the Games; athletes' coaches, support staff and family; plus schoolchildren from across London. Organisers hailed the Paralympics as the biggest and most high-profile in its 52-year history, with more media attention and a record number of athletes from more than 160 countries. London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe said that with 2.7 million tickets sold, packed venues and vocal crowds, the Games had created a global platform for elite disabled sport and also helped change perceptions of people with disabilities. London was awarded the Olympics and Paralympics in 2005 and has had to face doubts in particular over the £9.3 billion ($14.9 billion, 11.6 billion euro) cost of the project, security and whether the city's creaking transport system could cope with a massive influx of visitors. But the efficient running of both events and the public response has defied naysayers who predicted chaos and a lack of enthusiasm. "The Olympics showed that we can carry out the most difficult logistical operation demanded of any country in peacetime, and do it with efficiency and style," London Mayor Boris Johnson wrote in The Daily Telegraph newspaper. "The Paralympics have shown that Britain remains a beacon of enlightenment. "The Games have changed not only much of London; they have changed the world's attitude to Britain, and our own view of this country and what it can do."