More than 100,000 supporters flooded the streets of Norway’s capital to give their national team a hero’s welcome, converting the disappointment of their World Cup exit into an enormous national festival.
The team’s historic run ended on Saturday with a 2-1 extra-time defeat to England in the quarter-finals, spoiling their hopes of reaching the semi-finals. Despite this, the nation turned out in droves to honor their players. Early on Monday afternoon, massive crowds gathered under the summer sun outside the Royal Palace, with unofficial attendance figures climbing past 100,000.
After landing to a traditional water cannon salute, the squad began their homecoming parade. Adoring fans quickly packed the palace square and lined Karl Johans gate, the capital’s main boulevard, where the players first had an audience with King Harald V.
The squad later stepped out to greet the public with the Royal Guard standing to attention behind them. Striker Erling Haaland was absent from the final stage of the festivities, having departed early. Consequently, he missed joining his teammates on the palace steps for a final “Viking row” led by Crown Prince Haakon on the drum before the crowds.
“Erling and Sander [Berge] had to catch their plane as our trip from the US was delayed four hours,” head coach Ståle Solbakken explained as the team prepared to transition to an open-top bus parade. Throngs of fans slowed the double-decker to a crawl through central Oslo, at one point forcing it to reverse as police struggled to clear a path. The players celebrated with beer and waved to supporters as the party continued well into the night.
“The run the Norwegian team has had this year has been way beyond anything I’ve ever expected,” said fan Nicolai Sivesind, who traveled to the capital. “I feel everybody in Norway should just honour the national team.”
In a highly ironic moment, the parade was temporarily halted by low-hanging overhead cables. The players, who had been waving flags on the top deck, had to sit down to clear the hazard. Solbakken had previously complained that the ball struck an overhead camera cable just before Jude Bellingham scored England’s first-half equalizer, though Fifa has repeatedly denied this happened.
After several hours, the parade concluded its 1.3km route at City Hall Square, where tens of thousands of patient fans were still waiting.
“I don’t think anyone had imagined this,” team captain Martin Ødegaard told the broadcaster NRK. “The support we have received in the USA and here at home in Norway, has been beyond all expectations. It has been absolutely incredible to see.”
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