Why the 2012 Games medal parade should be in Yorkshire, not London

The British Olympic Association (BOA) has started to reveal details of the parade to be held to honour British success at the 2012 Games.

We know the date: Monday 10 September. We know roughly the number of athletes taking part: 850.

We also know that the BOA wants to see as many people as possible turning out to watch - including children, who it hopes will be allowed to skip school to attend.

And we know the location. Unsurprisingly, but perhaps unhappily, it is London.

Unsurprising, because London is the host city of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, is the capital of the UK, and is self-evidently capable of hosting enormous public events, such as a royal wedding or a jubilee.

Unhappily, because it is predictable and also unnecessary.

There is no conventional or contractual reason why the parade has to take place in London.

There is no law that dictates an official celebration of national achievement should only take place in the nation's capital.

There is also no reason to confine such a celebration to people who live and work in one corner of the UK - a corner that has already been flattered with a remarkable two weeks of sporting endeavour and spectacle.

If the parade has to take place in just one part of the country, why not Yorkshire: the region that has supplied the most number of medal-winners in the whole of the United Kingdom?

So far Yorkshire has been responsible for six golds, including Sheffield's Jessica Ennis in the heptathlon and Leeds' Alistair Brownlee in the men's triathlon. This represents around 25% of the British team's total haul of golds.

The county has also delivered two silvers and three bronzes.

The complete medal haul from Yorkshire puts it at 12th place in the medal table, ahead of the likes of Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Jamaica.

Other Yorkshire medallists include Lizzie Armitstead, from Otley, who won a silver in the women's cycling road race; Nicola Wilson, from Northallerton, who won silver in the team eventing competition; and rower Tom Ransley, who lives in York and rows for York City Rowing Club, who was part of the British men's eight crew which won bronze.

Other areas of the UK have distinguished themselves, most notably the nation of Scotland, which has so far picked up 10 medals.

There's no reason there can't be a nationwide celebration, involving visits by medal winners from both the Olympic and Paralympic Games to all corners of the UK.

But there's something about the idea of Yorkshire staging a grand medal parade that seems wonderfully fitting.

Yorkshire has a fine tradition for mounting stirring outdoor parades, full of colour and music and emotion.

The scenery, both town and countryside, is spectacular. Imagine the parade making its way from the ancient streets of York, across the North York Moors, and finishing in glorious style on the coast at Whitby.

People would flock from across the country, because they would know they all stood a chance of seeing the parade - unlike in London, where only a fraction of the crowd (those who arrive at the crack of dawn) will be in with a clear view.

Why not make the parade into a two or three-day festival? That way the county would benefit from a massive influx of visitors, most of them staying overnight, resulting in a huge boost to the local economy.

And think of how it would change our collective view of the nation. Rather than everyone beating a weary path to London for yet another slow, shuffle around all-too-familiar landmarks, we would congregate curiously in a region brimming with fresh treats and undiscovered delights.

Perhaps we would finally realise not everything that is important in the UK happens in the south-east of England.

If you need any further persuading, just ask anyone from Yorkshire why they should host the parade. Their answer? "Because it bloody should!"