Hearts stars lead Cup celebrations
Some 100,000 supporters line streets of Edinburgh to hail heroes
THE T-shirts read “Let’s get this party started” ... and the Hearts fans were true to their word.
While Hibernian’s supporters kept a low profile and nursed their wounded pride in the wake of the 5-1 demolition at Saturday’s Scottish Cupfinal, approximately 100,000 of their maroon-clad counterparts turned out in their thousands to celebrate.
Long before 2pm, the support had gathered en masse outside the City Chambers in Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, where the players were enjoying a civic reception.
Thesunbeatdownrelentlessly. One man spoke knowledgeably about how the last time Hearts had been here, after their 2006 cup triumph against Gretna, it had also been a “beautifully sunny day”.
All around him, Hearts supporters occupied every inch of the pavements around Parliament Square.
One woman in her early thirties told how she had travelled from outside Sheffield to be here. She had been unable to get a ticket for the game but had travelled overnight “just to be part of the atmosphere”.
The woman, who gave her name as Tricia, said: “I missed the last cup final because I was working but I said to my [boyfriend] nothing would keep me from coming here today.”
At a few minutes before 2pm, a huge cheer went up as the first of the players was spotted emerging from the City Chambers.
First to board the top of the open-deck bus – destination, Tynecastle – was Hear ts manager Paulo Sergio, clutching the cup. Beneath him, scarves were twirled and several hundred mobile phones recorded the moment for posterity.
The players were accorded heroes’ welcomes as they emerged at the top of the bus. Hearts songs were sung – a couple of them mocking their rivals – and the players joined in.
The bus moved off up the Royal Mile, followed by most of the crowd, singing as they went. The pavements were so clogged that you could hardly move, and before long it was several hundred yards away.
It turned down behind the castle, trailed by supporters who were determined not to miss a moment.
“Best day of my life,” said 53-year-old Tommy, comical in a jester’s heart and with a large flag tied around his middle. “I was outside Hampden for the game, couldn’t get a ticket – not a snowball’s chance – but this is just brilliant.”
Like others in the crowd, he couldn’t quite believe Saturday’s 5-1 scoreline. “I’d have settled for, you know, 2-1 or 3-1, but to score five is just ... unbelievable.”
As he spoke, he dodged out of the way of a stream of fizzy wine poured from an overhead window opposite the International Conference Centre.
As the bus trundled on, the procession clogged the streets. Both Hearts and Lothian and Borders Police had warned that fans could not follow the procession and also attend the celebrations at Tynecastle. The decision had reportedly been taken amidst crowd control concerns.
In any event, the turnstiles at the ground closed at 2.15pm, well in advance of the bus arriving.
No matter. The fans who had followed the Hearts bus from the Royal Mile had seen enough. Other fans could take over the celebrating from here on.
Walking back up towards the Royal Mile, you saw a trail of empty bottles and cans, which refuse crews were tackling. Just behind the castle, a couple of middle-aged fans, their faces reddened by the sun, were sitting on a bench, reliving the 90 minutes when their team became kings of Edinburgh.
Chief Superintendent Gill Imery, Divisional Commander for the City of Edinburgh said around 100,000 people participated in the celebrations and she praised the fans of both teams for their behaviour. She said: “With Edinburgh’s two professional teams facing each other in a major cup final, worldwide attention focused on Edinburgh, Glasgow and the fans and organisations associated with the match.
“I am delighted by the manner in which members of the public conducted themselves. Both sets of fans were a credit to themselves and their clubs.”