Trafalgar Square was awash with flags, England shirts and banners on a day of glorious celebration.
They had to shut the gates 90 minutes before heroic Sarina Wiegman and her players even took to the stage. There was space for 7,000 fans on a first come first served basis and it felt like they could have filled the famous London landmark ten times over.
The feel good factor from the 2-1 win over Germany at Wembley just carried over into Trafalgar Square as it was such a wonderful, friendly buzz around the place. Kids on patents’ shoulders, they cheered Wiegman and her heroic Lionesses onto the stage and when they played “It’s Coming Home” it really felt like it had.
White shirts, orange shirts and flags of St George. The music blaring out. What a party. This was another breath of fresh air as men, women and kids of all ages just cheered and got into the party spirit. No nastiness, no drunkenness, no intimidating louts. This is how it should be to encourage the kids of tomorrow not just to play football but also to watch football.
Every England game has been wonderful, full of positivity and good vibes. If football cannot seize this moment then they will never will. BBC presenter Alex Scott was on stage, roving with the microphone and going round the squad on stage. This was reminiscent of all those other celebrations we’ve seen and suffered after men’s teams lift the World Cup or Euros.
It was fun, in the heart of London with all of the history and landmarks behind. The celebration was organised at double quick speed and, rather like staging the games at smaller stadiums, maybe this could have been bigger, too, That is the magic of this tournament. It’s gripped the whole nation in a way no-one quite expected.
There are many children in the crowd, especially little girls, brought along by their parents to see the historic winners. They will now hopefully be growing up in a world which accepts that football is for both genders, but for Eff Urquhart, 55, and Gill Allen, 42, it was a very different story. The pair, who watched the final live at Wembley recall how growing up it was very much a boys-only game.
“We weren’t allowed!” she explains. “I was talking to someone this morning who is a similar age, and she said that when she asked the boys to play football at school they said yes, then made her be one of the goal posts.” The duo who both live in Liverpool are considering buying season tickets for the Liverpool women’s team. “It’s only 60 quid for the season which is amazing! We went to a few games last season,” says Eff.
Waves and waves of people watching on, looking on and cheering the heroes as they toasted their success. When they brought out the trophy again, it was truly magical. The players decked out in England flags and there was such a roar when Leah Williamson lifted the trophy again. Williamson led the chorus of “Campiones” before Wiegman took her turn and said: “it’s really heavy!” Williamson said: “This team likes to work hard - but we like to party hard! And that’s all I was thinking about at the final whistle.”
Siblings Ronan Mitchell, 11, and Esme Mitchell, 9, are also in the crowd in their England kits after having watched the match live last night. Ronan explains that at school in Newquay, Cornwall, the boys and girls now play football together, and they are good too. “It was so phenomenal,” he says of last night's win. Little sister Esme plays in a girls football team and is excited to see the England stars, especially her favourite player Alessia Russo. “I love how they're spreading the word, it's amazing,’ she explains.
When they played Sweet Caroline, the noise was deafening. The Lionesses went one better than Gareth Southgate’s men last year - and good times have never felt so good. Football feels like it has truly come home.
