Thousands of marching Wales fans bring Swiss city streets to standstill in stunning scenes
Wales fans descended upon Lucerne's 16,000-capacity stadium ahead of a massive game.
Welsh football fans brought the streets of Lucerne to a standstill as they marched to the stadium ahead of Wales Women's first-ever appearance at an international tournament.
Supporters put on a remarkable display of support for the women's national team in Switzerland on Saturday afternoon ahead of their Euro 2025 clash with Netherlands.
Rhian Wilkinson's side go up against the Dutch in their first group game of the competition today, and they'll be safe in knowledge the Red Wall are well and truly behind them.
Starting at the fan zone outside Lucerne train station, Wales and Netherlands fans walked in unison to the Allmend Stadion, a 2.5km journey ahead of the 5pm (UK time) kick-off. Welsh and Dutch colours filled the streets of the Swiss city as supporters danced and sang together in a show of unity.
Bucket hats, Welsh anthems and a real sense of togetherness were very much the order of the day.
Cymru belted out renditions of the national anthem, alongside Yma O Hyd and 'Don't Take Me Home' as Welsh colours filled the streets with song.
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The Dutch bus started at the front blasting music from the speakers, while Wales set up behind them with a more orchestral approach to the soundtrack of the march. One young girl was even performing keepy-ups at the front of Wales' march.
Bystanders watched on from their flat balconies as fans flooded through the streets on the way to the ground. The summer sun was beating down on supporters in glorious scenes, with a scenic backdrop of the Swiss mountains welcoming fans to the stadium.
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Earlier in the day a Wales supporters' team played a match at the fan zone's football pitch, with games going until 1pm.
Wales face Netherlands this evening, with France and England to come next week in St Gallen.
Whatever the result tonight, what these players and coaches have done for the women's game in Wales will forever be seen as a huge positive.
Marches are also set to take place for those matches in St Gallen, with the Red Wall set to push Cymru on through the group stage.
For the marches there, fans will need to take a bus from the fan zone to the start of the walk or take a train from St. Gallen to Winkeln train station, with the walk situated just one minute from there.
Outside the ground, there will be fan activities and an opportunity to meet fellow supporters.
While the FAW want everyone to be comfortable in what they wear to the fan walks, they encourage everyone to wear red to enforce the presence of the Red Wall inside the stadium.
Throughout the tournament, the fan walks will take place around two hours before kick-off.
Fans can stay updated on the FAW's official WEURO 25 WhatsApp channel.
The fan zone in Lucerne lit up on Friday night with performances from Welsh artists Liss Jones and Aleighcia Scott.
WalesOnline spoke to Welsh supporters, who were overjoyed to be a little part of history. Read more here.
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Zara, a 16-year-old from Swansea, said: "It's sort of unbelievable. I don't think it will sink in until we are out there in the stadium. You can see how many Welsh fans have travelled out here, it really is crazy. The team really deserve this, they've worked so hard for so many years and yeah, I can't wait now!"
The FAW also handed out free bucket hats to Wales supporters in Switzerland, giving them out near the fan zone on Saturday morning.
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The Guardian
30 minutes ago
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Looking for a seaside town that's a bit special? Try one of the UK's best revitalised resorts
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A Labour MP. And, as of spring 2025, a Reform-led council. So, we've still got range. One of my favourite things is not new, it's simply to linger on the beach whenever seals or porpoises are in the water. One Sunday, a pod of dolphins splashed about for 30 minutes in view of where I sat with friends and kids, beach-bar drinks in hand. It's really hard to beat Folkestone on a hot day, with to stay: overlooking the harbour a short walk from town, the London and Paris Hotel has 11 pretty rooms, doubles from £175, room only Sophy Grimshaw Scarborough residents refer to visitors as 'comforts', because they have usually 'Come for t' day', rather than the week, as was once the seaside norm. The negative shift helps explain why Scarborough will receive £20m from the government's Plan for Neighbourhoods, to fund significant regeneration over the next decade. The plan is designed for 'left-behind' communities. 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Whereas the spa was once associated with dinner-jacketed palm court orchestras, a more characteristic modern bill-topper would be Tony Skingle (who 'IS' Elvis). But the vision is consistent: a night out is improved by the proximity of the sea. Similar doggedness is evident in the history of the nearby South Cliff Lift, opened in 1875. Back then, the power was hydraulic. Today, the system is fully automatic, but the cars are still made of wood, one descending as the other ascends, like floating garden sheds. They carry passengers up through the near-vertical South Cliff Gardens, recently refurbished and underpinned. Subdivisions include the genteel Rose Garden, which was created in 1883 and has been carefully tended ever since (it's not easy to grow roses by the sea), including a major restoration in 2015. On the North Bay, Peasholm Park was opened in 1912, with an oriental theme, which (this being Scarborough) meant an Oriental Garden surmounted by a pagoda and surrounded by a fairy-lit boating lake. Such playfulness did not suit the brash 1970s, and the park went to seed, but a programme of renewal brought a Grade II listing in 1999. The narrow-gauge North Bay Railway also runs through gardens, and has done since 1931, skirting the Open Air Theatre, which closed in 1986 but was triumphantly relaunched in 2010. Now, let us return to the South Bay and the harbour, where the white lighthouse has stood like a cake decoration since 1806. Well, more or less. The original was destroyed by the German bombardment of 1914, its replacement erected in 1931. The harbour is attractively gritty: at low water, the pleasure boats are slumped in the mud. The kids with their crab lines seem to be emulating the adult fishers, who operate around the Victorian buildings of the West Pier. The current regeneration does include the West Pier, where a hoarding announces plans for a multimillion-pound refurbishment, 'improving amenities for local people and visitors'. But when you ask the local people about this, you encounter eye rolls and dark muttering. Their suspicion is that the pier will become too touristy at the expense of the fishing, and the plans are on hold for consultations. Scarborough has generally polished – rather than recut – the jewels in its crown, so I trust the harbour will not be too drastically 'improved'.Where to stay: Weston Hotel on Esplanade, Scarborough's poshest street, has doubles from £100, room onlyAndrew MartinTo the Sea By Train by Andrew Martin is published by Profile Books on 31 July (£18.99). To support the Guardian, order your copy at Delivery charges may apply A starling skips from wall to floor to table on the Portobello promenade, eager to nick the parmesan from the preposterously large slice of pizza I've acquired from Edinburgh institution Civerinos. On the beach to my right, sunbathers battle melting ice-creams, dogs disrupt beach volleyball bouts and kids dig for Australia. Beyond, bobbing heads brave the North Sea chill, knowing the wood-fired Soul Water Sauna is waiting back on the prom if they get a little nippy. Portobello is a trendy spot these days. The coastal suburb of Edinburgh is only a 30-minute bus ride from the city centre, but 'Porty' has its own identity, distinct from the capital. 'I loved growing up here,' says Michael Pedersen, Edinburgh's makar (poet laureate). 'I loved the sea. I loved the arcade. I loved Arthur's Seat looming in the background like a behemoth bull seal about to enter a brawl. But it didn't feel like you were in a trendy, chic epicentre of a place. It felt like you were on the outskirts, trying to claw your way back in.' The neon storm of Nobles – a battlement-themed penny arcade on the promenade – offers a portal to Porty's past. Portobello was incorporated into Edinburgh in 1896, when it was one of Scotland's most popular seaside resorts. Cheap tram and train access brought the masses in from Edinburgh and Glasgow, and an open-air pool and pleasure pier awaited them. Both of those attractions are long gone – the rise of package holidays ending the boom – but the Victorian swimming baths (and Edinburgh's only Turkish baths) remain, council-run. As I backstroke under bunting strung across the pool, the sun shines through the glass roof, illuminating the columns and gallery. It is not nostalgia that draws people to Porty today, though. 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Walk along the promenade, looking across the Firth of Forth to Fife, and it's easy to see to stay: Straven Guesthouse is a traditional, family-run place close to the promenade, doubles from £107, B&B (minimum two nights)Stuart Kenny
Daily Mirror
30 minutes ago
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'I won 14 F1 titles with Red Bull but quitting last year was an easy decision'
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