Watch Live: GB Champions Lead Victory Parade

Thousands of people are lining the streets of London to celebrate the success of the British Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

Olympic and Paralympic champions Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah and Jonnie Peacock are among 700 British athletes taking part in the victory parade to celebrate the British team's success at London 2012.

TeamGB finished third in the medal table with 29 golds, 17 silvers and 19 bronzes while the Paralympic team also finished third with 120 medals, easily surpassing a pre-Games target of 103 medals.

The athletes travel on 21 open-top floats, grouped in alphabetical order by their sport.

The stars of the Olympics' "Super Saturday" are on the first three.

They include Farah, the Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m winner, followed by heptathlon gold medallist Ennis, with long jump champion Greg Rutherford in the third float.

Cycling stars Sir Chris Hoy, Jason Kenny, Laura Trott and Victoria Pendleton are in float seven, followed by double equestrian gold medal winner Charlotte Dujardin, rowing champion Katherine Grainger, Ben Ainslie, Britain's most successful Olympic sailor, and triathlon gold medallist Alistair Brownlee.

Paralympians Jonnie Peacock, Hannah Cockcroft, Jody Cundy and Sophie Christiansen, who all took part in Sunday's Paralympic closing ceremony, also joined the parade.

Paralympic cyclist Jody Cundy tweeted: "Seas of people. Amazing scenes, never seen anything like it!

"So this is what it's like to be a rock star."

Prime Minister David Cameron said the games will be etched on the memories of the public in the same way as the World Cup winning year of 1966.

He hailed the London games as the "best ever" as he thanked gamesmakers at a reception in No 10 this morning.

He said: "I think it has given us a tremendous lift, I think it has brought the country together and I think it has given us memories that we will be talking about for years and generations to come.

"I think that 2012 will be like 1966, something we'll talk about with our children and grandchildren, something that will continue to delight us long after this time has passed."

British Airways will lead a flypast with the Red Arrows during the event after receiving special permission to fly over The Mall.

The flame-coloured Firefly A319 aircraft, which was used to bring the Olympic Flame to the UK at the start of the Games, will display a "thank you" message on its underbelly.

During its 20-minute journey, the Firefly will pass over the Olympic Park at 3.40pm before reaching The Mall a minute later.

London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "This summer our great city has hosted an unbelievable spectacle of sport and thousands will want to celebrate the achievements of our athletes by coming to the parade.

"It promises to be an incredible afternoon but I do want to remind people coming that we expect the route to be extremely busy and planning ahead is absolutely crucial if they are going to be able to make the most of their day.

"Everyone coming should take the time to check on their public transport arrangements and make sure they leave plenty of time to find a good spot.

"But don't forget that there will be continuous television coverage on the main channels that will offer the very best views of the action."

The parade was organised by Mr Johnson in conjunction with the British Olympic Association and the British Paralympic Association .

It will travel along Queen Victoria Street and Cannon Street, passing St Paul's Cathedral, continuing along Fleet Street, past Aldwych and into The Strand, before reaching Trafalgar Square.

A big screen at the base of Nelson's Column, with live commentary, will allow spectators to cheer on the athletes as the parade makes its way past Trafalgar Square.

From the square, the athletes head through Admiralty Arch into The Mall, travelling down to the Queen Victoria Memorial.

An area from Admiralty Arch to the Queen Victoria Memorial is ticket-only and reserved for groups who had made "an invaluable contribution to the Games and the success of our athletes", the Greater London Authority said.

This includes 14,000 volunteers, members of the blue light services, military personnel, TeamGB and ParalympicsGB coaches and support staff, friends and family of the athletes and schoolchildren from every London borough.