Citius, altius, fortius interruptus

The parade for Britain's Olympic medallists took place yesterday. You may have missed it.

As many as 200,000 people lined the route or gathered in Trafalgar Square. But given the pre-event hype, it was a bit of a damp squib. Still, everyone did their best to talk it up. 'I was standing with Sir Steve Redgrave before the start and was getting a little bit concerned that people would not turn out in the numbers expected', admitted British Olympic Association (BOA) chief, Simon Clegg. 'But minutes before the event began the crowds became 10-12 deep in places.' Which means equally that the crowd was perhaps one deep in places, too. And how many of those watching were shoppers and passers-by rubbernecking?

Some blamed the poor turnout on the lack of press coverage, but that was hardly the case. The problem was the delay - the Olympics have long since faded from most people's memories. The gold medals were won seven weeks ago, but rather than organising an open-top bus and letting people get on with it, the BOA decided to wait until after the Paralympics in order to be seen as inclusive. In the meantime your average gold medallist has been busy making adverts and going on TV shows - squeezing in a homecoming parade when you've been home for nearly two months can be a bit tricky. Like the athletes' floats, the moment had passed.

As a result, this was not the Shared National Experience everyone had hoped for - although these days, Shared National Experiences tend to be shallow and fleeting, like our interest in synchronised diving. Not only was this a letdown for all those desperate for something to be a part of, but it is unlikely to do London's bid for the 2012 games much good either.

BOA chief defends Olympic parade, BBC News, 19 October 2004