Birmingham is set to give some of the London 2012 Olympic heroes a massive welcome at a sold-out athletics meeting in the city.
Double gold medallist Mo Farah will headline a star-studded line-up at the Birmingham Aviva Grand Prix on Sunday.
A total of 16 gold winners and 42 medallists overall from the London Olympics will take to the track.
Fellow Olympic Team GB long jump gold medallist Greg Rutherford, along with silver 400-metre runner Christine Ohuruogu, will also take part.
It is the first major event to take place in the UK since the hugely successful Olympics – and the city’s athletics fans will be out in force.
Mo Farah, 29, said: “I’m looking forward to coming back to the Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix. It was a special atmosphere there last year and another victory would be great. It’s a big year for athletics in the UK.
“The crowd has really got behind me on home soil in 2012, and I’m sure they’ll be in high spirits to cheer on the returning Olympic contingent in Birmingham.”
To deal with the numbers going to the event at the Alexander Stadium in Great Barr, the council has created its own version of the infamous ‘Olympic lanes’.
Motorists using the busy A34 Walsall Road towards the Alexander Stadium venue can see massive yellow signs outlining designated lanes for Pass Holders’ Only and VIPs erected on the main approach to the stadium.
But while Londoners faced hefty fines if they dared to stray into the limo-only stretches of road around the capital, the traffic management instructions are solely designed to avoid major jams around the stadium and to help officials get to the venue with minimum delay.
There will also be special lanes for buses heading along the A34 from the Scott Arms area of Great Barr to Perry Barr.
A spokeswoman for Birmingham City Council said the signs were put up to guide the thousands of vehicles heading to the 17,000-seater stadium and denied they were the city’s own version of the capital’s infamous Olympic Lanes.
“They have been put up to give motorists early warning of what lane they should be using to try to keep the traffic moving,” she said.
“It’s for guidance only and they have been successfully used before in the area.
“People are not going to be in trouble for driving in the wrong lane.”
Meanwhile, West Midlands Olympics gymnastics hero Kristian Thomas was given a rapturous, but rain-soaked, welcome on his return to his home club this week.
