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Members of the Great Britain team will arrive back in the United Kingdom from China on Monday following their best Olympic performance for 100 years.

British competitors claimed 19 golds in Beijing to finish with a stunning haul of 47 medals.

Cyclist Chris Hoy, a flag-bearer at the closing ceremony, won three golds as GB finished fourth in the medal table.

The team are due to land at Heathrow Airport at around 1500 BST before attending a news conference.

As the countdown begins to London 2012, Team GB will arrive on a dedicated British Airways Boeing 747 featuring a special gold medal "nose" in celebration of their success.

The plane, renamed Pride after the British Olympic lion mascot, bears a message "Proud to bring our British heroes home" emblazoned on the fuselage.

BA said the plane is scheduled to touch down at Heathrow at 1505 BST after a 10-hour journey from Beijing.

Extra champagne has been ordered for the flight and the airline has given the medallists special upgrades.

Passengers will be able to choose from an onboard menu that includes steak and mushroom pie with parsley mash, fillet of beef with lyonnaise potatoes or baked cod with a herb and lobster sauce.

Captain Alasdair MacFadyen said: "We've all been following Team GB whilst they've been in Beijing.

"They've done the UK proud and we're so pleased to be delivering them back to home soil to the heroes' welcome they've earned."

Organisers have warned fans to stay away from the airport and said the public could mark the homecoming at a victory parade in London on 16 October.

A reception at Downing Street is also likely to be arranged.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has already stated the honours system will recognise the team's achievements.

The British Olympic Association had targeted an eighth-place finish in the table.

But despite some below-par displays in athletics and equestrian events, excellent performances from the swimmers, rowers, sailors, boxers and canoeists helped Team GB finish above the likes of Australia and Germany.

The cyclists won a total of 14 medals, including eight golds, with Hoy's efforts making him the first Briton in 100 years to win three golds at the same Games.

Swimmer Rebecca Adlington is sure to receive a huge reception in her home town of Mansfield following her two golds in the Water Cube.

The 19-year-old became Britain's first female Olympic swimming champion in 48 years with victory in the 400m freestyle. She followed that achievement by winning gold in the 800m event.

Her victory will soon be toasted in the Adlington Arms after it was announced the local Yates's pub would change its name in her honour.

The rowers picked up two golds, two silvers and two bronzes for their best Olympics since 1908 while Britain's sailors will have a hard act to follow in 2012 in Weymouth.

They won four golds, including a third for Ben Ainslie, who was elevated to the same status as record-breaking swimmer Michael Phelps and sprinter Usain Bolt by Olympics chief Jacques Rogge.

Britain's boxers also did well, with James DeGale adding gold to bronzes for David Price and Tony Jeffries, while Tim Brabants picked up the country's first ever canoeing gold.

Despite a magnificent 400m gold for Christine Ohuruogu, the athletics team disappointed overall, falling one short of their target of five medals.

"It has been frustrating - we almost hit the target, but you don't get medals for close," said UK Athletics performance director Dave Collins.

"But we've got some fantastic young athletes and there's real promise for 2012, it's just going to take time."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has already said the British government will be investing heavily in the country's sporting talent in the build-up to 2012.

"As we move up to it we want more and more young people in Britain interested in sport," he said.

"That is why we will be investing more in sport in our schools, as well as for our elite athletes."

(BBC)

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