Hundreds of thousands of joyous Newcastle United fans gathered in the city to celebrate the team’s Carabao Cup victory over Liverpool.
The win marked the club’s first domestic trophy in 70 years, with the streets turning into a sea of black and white for an open-top bus parade.
It was estimated ahead of the event that as many as 150,000 fans were due to line the streets for the parade.
An estimated 150,000 fans then gathered at the park Town Moor for a ticketed event, which saw players gather on stage to lift the trophy, recreating what they did at London’s Wembley Stadium nearly two weeks ago on 16 March.
Read more: Newcastle parade as it happened
For manager Eddie Howe, Saturday’s event was an emotional moment as the city honoured him with a massive banner, unfurled outside St James’ Park – the team’s home stadium.
Newcastle United fans watch on as the players pass by aboard an open-top bus. Pic: PA
Goalscorer Dan Burn, a childhood fan of Newcastle, also couldn’t hide his emotions, telling Sky Sports News: “I don’t know what I was expecting, but it is everything I have ever dreamed of.
“It is something I will never forget.”
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Joining the team on the open-top bus were Newcastle-born TV icons Ant and Dec (Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly).
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe lifts the Carabao Cup infront of fans. Pic: PA
Newcastle United players on stage in Newcastle. Pic: PA
The pair, who both support the Premier League team, posted a clip of them following the squad to the bus as McPartlin shouted “let’s get ready to rumble” in reference to the pair’s hit single as PJ and Duncan.
Eyewitness: Fans of all ages understood the magnitude of Newcastle United’s moment
From about 12 noon Newcastle United fans began to gather at Town Moor to celebrate the team’s Carabao Cup triumph.
From the field, which is more than 1,000 acres, you can see St James’ Park, sitting in the heart of the city.
Stood waiting for the party to start was John Poland, a 68-year-old fan who said the club is “in his DNA”.
Mr Poland, who is from the city, says he can remember Newcastle’s last trophy win, the 1969 Inter-City Fairs Cup.
For him, the club is an extension of the community.
We “wrap our arms around you here, we make you feel welcome”, he said, gesturing at the gathering sea of people in black and white scarves and shirts.
As the grass filled up and the parade rolled across the city, the roars ratcheted up us the players appeared on the big screen.
Fans of all ages understood the magnitude of the moment, including Archie, a nine-year-old who wants to one day play for Newcastle when he grows up.
“I cried when they won and went upstairs and started playing Newcastle songs on my Alexa,” he said.
As Newcastle’s record scorer Alan Shearer appeared on the stage, Andrea, a lifelong fan, leaned over the railings to get a closer look.
“This is everything,” she said. “We’re a working-class city and this is in the blood.”
In another social media post, Donnelly said: “Well, we’re about to start the parade. I don’t know how we’ve sneaked on here, how have we done this? We just followed the team on and we’re on the parade.”
McPartlin then began to chant “ole, ole, ole, ole”, while in another video the pair could be seen overlooking fans as the bus passed the club’s St James’ Park ground.
The open-top bus parade through Newcastle. Pic: PA
Newcastle fans outside St James’ Park ahead of the trophy parade. Pic: PA
The drone show dubbed a ‘spectacular surprise’ by club sponsors Sela. Pic: PA
As the bus and crowd approached the Town Moor site, white smoke blanketed the area as the crowd sang Hey Jude, replacing the word Jude with Geordies.
The celebration ended with a drone show over the park, which sponsor of the team Sela, had teased as a “spectacular surprise” earlier in the day.
The drones morphed into various images and words, including a Newcastle shirt with the words “making history” underneath.
