Olympic celebrations begin today

The Olympic Homecoming celebrations to honour Jamaica’s athletes are set to kick off today.



Several events have been planned to celebrate Jamaica’s record-breaking haul of 6 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals at the Beijing Olympics in August.



The celebrations will feature a number of activities, which are set to climax on October 10.



Motorcades through Kingston and the Western end of the island, will be two of the major highlights during the celebrations.



The motorcades, which will feature Jamaica\'s Beijing contingent, inclusive of athletes, coaching staff and official delegation, will give Jamaicans an opportunity to interact with, and show their appreciation to their Olympic heroes.



The Corporate Area leg of the motorcade will begin today at the Harbour View round-a-bout, proceed to downtown Kingston.



It will then travel to the Portia Simpson Miller Square, through Half-Way Tree and then on to the National stadium, where the motorcade is slated to end.



Tomorrow Jamaicans will get another chance to celebrate with the athletes at the National Stadium, which will host the Olympic Sports Gala.



And western Jamaica will not be left out as there will be a motorcade travelling between Montego Bay, St James and Falmouth, Trelawny.



The motorcade will officially start at the Dump Up Beach, continue on to the North Coast Highway, and end in Water Square, Falmouth.



Similar to the two-pronged approach in Kingston, Western Jamaica will be treated to their own Western Gala at the Trelawny Stadium on Wednesday, October 8.



Meanwhile on Friday night, there will be a fund-raising dinner at the Strawberry Hill hotel, in St Andrew.



Proceeds from that function will go towards the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association.



There will also be a thanksgiving service at Emancipation Park in New Kingston.



The week long event will conclude with an event at Vale Royal.