Team GB athletes set to return home after successful Paris Olympics

Team GB athletes are set to return home after a successful Paris Olympics.

Sunday evening saw Team GB’s athletes cheer and wave Union flags as they entered the closing ceremony wearing Hawaiian-style shirts showing the emblems of every nation in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Some, including Tom Daley, were seen taking selfies and filming on their phones.

Gold medallists Alex Yee and Bryony Page walked out as Great Britain’s flagbearers.

The ceremony also saw Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise delight the crowds in Stade de France as he descended into the stadium from the roof before greeting Olympians in the crowd.

Great Britain ended the Paris Olympics with 65 medals – the same amount won at London 2012 and second-best ever tally on foreign soil – with only the United States (126) and China (91) claiming more.

But Team GB won eight fewer gold medals than in Tokyo three years ago and were 13 down on the 27 collected at Rio 2016.

A final return of 14 gold, 22 silver and 29 bronze saw Britain slip to seventh spot in the medal table – its lowest place since finishing 10th at Athens 2004 – and third-best European nation behind hosts France and the Netherlands.

Traditional Olympic sports such as athletics, cycling and swimming returned medals, while rowing banished its Tokyo nightmare to win three golds in a strong regatta.

But newer sports such as skateboarding, taekwondo and trampolining also had success, while Team GB won its first-ever medals in sport climbing.

Paris will now turn its focus to the Paralympics, which will start on August 28.

As the Games ended on Sunday, the King, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Prime Minister and a host of celebrities sent their congratulations to Team GB.

The King congratulated competitors and described them as “an inspiration”.

William and Kate appeared in a video message congratulating Team GB, with a compilation of messages from celebrities including Snoop Dogg and David Beckham.

The US rapper started the video by saying “greetings loved ones” and ended it with the words “thank you Great Britain, on behalf of big Snoop Dogg, the prince and his lovely wife”.

Kate said: “From all of us watching at home, congratulations to Team GB.”

William then added: “Well done on all you’ve achieved, you’ve been an inspiration to us all.”

Beckham said: “Hey Team GB, we are so proud of you. Congratulations.”

Some of the others who featured in the video include former swimmer Rebecca Adlington, former track and field athlete Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, former middle distance runner Dame Kelly Holmes, presenter and author Greg James and TV presenter Emma Willis.

The King’s message read: “My wife joins me in sending our warmest congratulations to the competitors and their support teams from Team GB and across the whole Commonwealth, for their many outstanding successes at the Olympic Games in Paris.

“Your achievements, across so many disciplines, were forged from that invaluable combination of raw talent, true grit and hard toil over many years, burnished these past weeks by sportsmanship and team spirit in the finest tradition of the Games.

“To those who missed out on the greatest prizes, you have most certainly not fallen short in the pride that you, too, have generated for your nations.

“As we thank France for hosting such a wonderful tournament and look to the Paralympics ahead, I can only say that you have all been an inspiration.”

The Prime Minister congratulated Team GB’s athletes and praised them for inspiring a new generation of athletes.

Sir Keir Starmer posted on X, formerly Twitter: “To all our incredible @TeamGB athletes and support staff, well done and congratulations.

“You’re bringing home more than just medals. You’ve inspired a new generation of athletes while entertaining a nation. Thank you.”

Team GB have already made a start to planning for the Los Angeles 2028 Games by securing Stanford University as its exclusive preparation camp.