THE ROUTE of a homecoming parade for local Olympic and Paralympic heroes has been unveiled.

As revealed earlier this month, Leeds City Council is staging an official reception so that the efforts of athletes like Bramhope's Alistair and Johnny Brownlee can be celebrated.

The event takes place in Leeds city centre from 5.45pm to 6.45pm on Wednesday, September 28 and the Brownlees, who won gold and silver in the Triathlon, are among those taking part.

They will be joined by a string of fellow Yorkshire athletes who excelled in Rio.

They will include rowers Andy Triggs Hodge and Paul Bennett, who both claimed gold, Paralympic wheelchair sprinter Hannah Cockroft MBE, who won two golds, and diver and gold medallist Jack Laugher.

The parade, supported by live music and featuring open-top buses, will begin on The Headrow outside Leeds Art Gallery and then turn right onto Park Row before heading down to City Square.

The procession of buses will then take a left turn on to Boar Lane and another left onto Briggate, before making one final left onto The Headrow and returning back to the gallery.

Following the parade all of the athletes will be welcomed to the Civic Hall as part of a special civic reception hosted by the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Gerry Harper.

Councillor Harper, who lives in Otley, said: "We are extremely excited as a city to have the opportunity to host a Yorkshire homecoming event for our Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

"Team GB have performed brilliantly in Rio and made us all very proud.

"Having the chance, therefore, to welcome back Yorkshire’s athletes is a massive honour and one we are massively looking forward to."

Leader of Leeds City Council Councillor Judith Blake, a fellow Otley resident, added: "The Rio Heroes homecoming which we have planned promises to be something very special and we are delighted to be able to announce the route which the open buses will take around the city centre.

"The support from the people of Yorkshire has once again been simply incredible, and all of our athletes can be guaranteed a truly memorable homecoming reception."

Alistair Brownlee, meanwhile, has said how much he and his brother are looking forward to being greeted on their 'home turf'.

A rolling road closure programme will be in place for the parade streets during the event, and longer-term road closures and other traffic management measures will also be in place at key points.

Rio Heroes has been organised in partnership with Welcome to Yorkshire and the support of neighbouring local authorities.