Crowds on both sides of the Gibraltar frontier celebrated overnight into Wednesday 15 July as the newly opened border brought an end to decades of routine checks, in what many described as a historic moment.
Footage shows Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo embracing La Línea mayor Juan José Franco as they crossed the frontier together, while British customs officers left their posts to applause. Residents waved flags, danced in the streets and held banners reading "At last, no more queues", celebrating the end of long delays that had disrupted the lives of travellers and cross-border workers. The reopening was widely hailed as a new chapter in relations between Gibraltar and neighbouring Spain.
