HOMECOMING KINGS
CARDIFF SET TO PARTY TODAY AS OUR EURO STARS RETURN TO HEROES’ WELCOME – FULL DETAILS OF THE PARADE ROUTE AND STADIUM EVENT
A MONUMENTAL celebration is set to take place on the streets of Cardiff today as the nation welcomes home Wales’ footballing heroes after a stunning Euro 2016.
Chris Coleman’s men will mark their stellar performance at the tournament in France with an open-top bus tour through the streets of the capital and an event at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Thousands of fans are expected to line the streets for the bus parade, to say thank you to the likes of Gareth Bale, Ashley Williams and Aaron Ramsey for what has been an unforgettable month.
Around 33,000 tickets were yesterday made available for the early evening party inside the stadium, which will include a mini-concert from the Manic Street Preachers.
FAW chief executive Jonathan Ford said: “We feel this event is a great way of everyone celebrating what has been a historic period for Welsh football.
“The scenes we have seen at home and over in France have been fantastic and we hope that our passionate supporters can enjoy another moment with the players to end a memorable few weeks.”
Coleman and his team spent another day at their French training base in Dinard yesterday to reflect upon their semi-final defeat against Portugal on Wednesday and to conduct a thorough debrief into what has happened over the past few weeks.
Today, the team will arrive at Cardiff Airport at around 2.30pm, where First Minister Carwyn Jones will welcome them.
The players will then pose for a photograph on the steps of the aeroplane, with hundreds of fans expected to be at the airport to greet them.
Once they come through customs, the players will step out of the airport entrance and board two coaches, each sporting the words “Diolch, Together Stronger” on the sides.
There will be a police escort in place as they head from Rhoose into the Welsh capital to prepare for the opentop bus tour.
Their route into Cardiff will take them past Barry, towards Culverhouse Cross and then up the Ely link road (A4232) onto the M4.
They will exit at the next junction, the Coryton interchange (junction 32), and from there the team will head up Manor Way and into North Road.
Once they reach the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama at Blackweir, the coaches will take a right turn and head up a path which ends around the back of Cardiff Castle.
The players will then have a private walk through the grounds of the castle, before emerging through the front entrance onto Castle Street to begin the tour of Cardiff. Fans will have the opportunity to wave and say thanks to their heroes.
Two buses will be waiting outside the castle entrance for the players to board at 4pm. The first will contain players and management, the second will have backroom staff on it.
It is anticipated huge numbers of people will line the streets.
The planned tour will see the team start on Castle Street, loop around Cardiff city centre, head past the Principality Stadium to the top of Westgate Street and then west towards Canton.
Their destination is the Cardiff City Stadium where the homecoming party will take place.
It is expected the team will reach their venue at around 5.30pm and the players will head into the ground via the front entrance.
They will then be given an hour or so behind the scenes to mingle with those close to them as the crowd begins to filter inside the stadium.
The Principality Stadium was originally touted by the FAW for the homecoming party, having a much larger 74,000-seat, but they reluctantly ruled out that option because the ground is already hosting the British Speedway Grand Prix this weekend.
The entertainment begins from 5.15pm with turnstiles open for the public at 5pm.
Performances include Kizzy Crawford, Gwawr Edwards, Chris Phillips, Mike Peters from the Alarm, The Barry Horns, rounded off by the Manic Street Preachers, who will get the homecoming party properly started at
6.30pm. The Blackwood band will perform three songs, including their hit Together, Stronger (C’mon Wales) which served as the team’s official anthem during the Euros.
At 6.45pm, the main event of the evening will take place when the players will be introduced to the crowd one by one.
They will then participate in a short Q&A, with footage of their stunning performances at the Euros being displayed on big screens.
TV presenter Frances Donovan will act as MC and the FAW have also explored the possibility of Gethin Jones coming on board.
The event, which is planned to last an hour, will be screened live by BBC Wales and S4C.