‘Sea of gold’ will welcome home Jess as trees join glowing tribute

TREES in Sheffield city centre have been painted gold ahead of a huge homecoming celebration for Olympic star Jessica Ennis this afternoon.

Thousands of people are expected to attend the event for the medal winning heptathlete and Sheffield Council said it wanted citizens to wear gold clothing to help create a “sea of gold”.

The celebration is expected to begin at 4pm in Barker’s Pool, outside Sheffield City Hall, which also welcomed the Olympic flame in the run-up to the Games.

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Barker’s Pool is also home to an 80ft (24m) high poster of Ennis on the outside of the city’s John Lewis store and the postbox which has been painted gold in her honour.

Ennis is expected to arrive at about 6.30pm when she will be greeted on stage by the city’s Lord Mayor, Councillor John Campbell and will talk briefly to her fans.

She will then be taken into the Town Hall for a civic reception where a celebration cake and an original artwork by Sheffield artist Pete McKee will be presented.

Speaking ahead of the party, the 26-year-old said: “Winning the Olympics in Britain has exceeded everything I could have wished for – I am still in a state of disbelief.

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“I have to say a big thankyou to the people of Sheffield who have believed in me and backed me over the years and to the people who were there in the stadium in London who really lifted me every step of the way.”

Today’s celebration follows other recent welcome home events for Yorkshire’s Olympic heroes including Leeds triathletes Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, cyclist Lizzie Armitstead, of Otley, and Hull boxer Luke Campbell. Meanwhile, taekwondo star Jade Jones, 19, will tour her home town of Flint, North Wales, on an open-top bus next Saturday.

Lord Mayor John Campbell has urged people to turn out in large number to welcome Ennis home. “Jessica is a true superstar and we want to give her a massive Sheffield welcome home,” he said.

“She has done her home city proud. She is such a great ambassador for Sheffield and we are so proud of her so let’s all come together to celebrate her achievement.

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“Jessica has stayed strong to her to her Sheffield roots by being educated here through school and university, training her and seeing Sheffield as her home.

“She has risen to the occasion and now is the time for the city to rise in recognition of her.”

As celebrations of Olympic success go on, preparations for the Paralympic Games are still under way, and yesterday the Paralympic torch caused excitement at a supermarket in Leeds.

Shoppers at the Sainsbury’s store in Street Lane were invited to have their photographs taken with the torch, which will be used in the 24-hour relay ahead of the opening ceremony on Wednesday August 29.

Among the torchbearers in the relay, which will begin at Stoke Mandeville Stadium in Buckinghamshire, will be 13-year-old Argyle Bird, from Hull.