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They inspired a nation - now, Wales' footballers have arrived | :00:10. | :00:17. | |
And they are ready to party. You're watching a special programme from | :00:18. | :00:27. | |
BBC Wales. I hope you have taken the afternoon | :00:28. | :00:54. | |
off because there is a party planned and you are all invited. Throughout | :00:55. | :00:58. | |
the afternoon we will bring you all news of the Wales team arriving | :00:59. | :01:02. | |
home. Let me show you some pictures now of the motorcade making its way, | :01:03. | :01:09. | |
two buses, with the players and coaches in front, and the support | :01:10. | :01:15. | |
staff behind. Release outriders guiding the Wales team through the | :01:16. | :01:20. | |
streets of Cardiff. They left Cardiff airport earlier today, and | :01:21. | :01:23. | |
they are making their way to the centre of Cardiff, where I can tell | :01:24. | :01:27. | |
you there are thousands upon thousands of fans waiting to cheer | :01:28. | :01:30. | |
them on, to say thank you for what they have done over the last few | :01:31. | :01:36. | |
weeks. Well, it has been an eventful morning here at Cardiff airport. | :01:37. | :01:42. | |
Many schoolchildren were waiting to welcome their heroes. Let's now have | :01:43. | :01:48. | |
a recap of the days events so far. At 2.37 this afternoon, the jet | :01:49. | :01:52. | |
touched down on Welsh soil after their epic French adventure. Players | :01:53. | :02:00. | |
and managers emerged to be treated by a barrage of photographers. Once | :02:01. | :02:03. | |
inside the terminal building, the volume turned up a notch. As the | :02:04. | :02:12. | |
heroes emerged, they took time to chat with fans young and old, | :02:13. | :02:16. | |
signing autographs and posing for photographs with adoring fans. I got | :02:17. | :02:25. | |
my shoe and my book signed! They were very good, especially against | :02:26. | :02:30. | |
Belgium, and we should have won but it does not matter because we got so | :02:31. | :02:33. | |
far. Their success has captured the imagination of the nation. Today, | :02:34. | :02:40. | |
everybody wanted to say Diolch. People would have thought, another | :02:41. | :02:44. | |
politician talking nonsense, if I had said we would make it to the | :02:45. | :02:49. | |
semis. The Belgium match, I was there and it was the best I have | :02:50. | :02:54. | |
ever seen a Wales team play. We are the smallest country to have got | :02:55. | :02:57. | |
that far in the Euros. We can take some pride in that. They left the | :02:58. | :03:02. | |
airport with the cheers ringing in their ears, heading for Cardiff City | :03:03. | :03:05. | |
centre, where even larger crowds were waiting. Let's talk now to Ron | :03:06. | :03:12. | |
Jones, who I am delighted to say has joined us. He is the king of the | :03:13. | :03:16. | |
commentary box. You have seen it all in your career. Did you ever think | :03:17. | :03:20. | |
you would see scenes like this today? I certainly did not think at | :03:21. | :03:32. | |
the start of my commentary career that I would see a Wales team | :03:33. | :03:36. | |
perform in the way that they did in such a major championship. I am | :03:37. | :03:41. | |
lucky enough to go all the way back to 1958, when we previously qualify | :03:42. | :03:46. | |
for a major tournament. Then it was the World Cup in Sweden, and amazing | :03:47. | :03:51. | |
occasion. Just have a look at these scenes now in the centre of Cardiff. | :03:52. | :03:56. | |
We heard during the campaign that some of the players in 1958 arrived | :03:57. | :04:00. | |
home and some people were not even aware that they had competed at a | :04:01. | :04:06. | |
World Cup. That was the story at Swansea station, when three Swansea | :04:07. | :04:09. | |
players arrived and they had cases with them, and someone asked them if | :04:10. | :04:15. | |
they had been on their holidays. It is hard to comprehend. But these | :04:16. | :04:20. | |
scenes which we are watching around the castle, where the parade will | :04:21. | :04:24. | |
start. The team is on its way to the starting point. They are 20 deep. | :04:25. | :04:29. | |
This tells us as much as anything the impression that the players and | :04:30. | :04:38. | |
staff, the whole group have made, on the people of Wales. They really | :04:39. | :04:43. | |
have been absolutely wonderful. They have indeed. And we covered the | :04:44. | :04:50. | |
Olympic torch relay a few years ago, and the scenes across the country | :04:51. | :04:54. | |
were quite amazing. I never thought that we would see something akin to | :04:55. | :05:00. | |
that. Especially coming from the Wales football team. Many Wales fans | :05:01. | :05:07. | |
have endured years, decades, of near misses and heartache. After almost | :05:08. | :05:14. | |
30 years of working for the BBC, I covered five World Cups and I went | :05:15. | :05:18. | |
with England, I went with Scotland, I went with the Republic of Ireland. | :05:19. | :05:24. | |
Never once did I go to a major championship with Wales. Of course, | :05:25. | :05:30. | |
the moment they qualify, I have come off the BBC staff and missed it! | :05:31. | :05:41. | |
It is astonishing. The only players missing from the team coach, I | :05:42. | :05:47. | |
understand, our Joe Ledley, who is getting married, and Neil Taylor, | :05:48. | :05:52. | |
who is a guest at the wedding. So those two are missing from that fund | :05:53. | :05:56. | |
coach. But all the other players, every single one of them deserves | :05:57. | :06:01. | |
all the accolades. Ron Jones, thank you very much for the time being. | :06:02. | :06:06. | |
The bus is slowly making its way to the centre. And with the fans for us | :06:07. | :06:17. | |
is Kate Morgan. In the last half an hour, this place has become packed | :06:18. | :06:21. | |
with fans waiting to see a glimpse of the team bus. | :06:22. | :06:46. | |
The crowd stretches down St Mary's Street, up towards Queen's Street. | :06:47. | :06:53. | |
There are people on the roof of the building on the corner, they are | :06:54. | :06:59. | |
hanging out of the windows along Castle Street. | :07:00. | :07:04. | |
All to get the best view. The coaches will be arriving here, | :07:05. | :07:09. | |
getting off the coach, and then they can meet the fans. They have waited | :07:10. | :07:13. | |
for hours to meet them. To say thank you. There are a few sign, one of | :07:14. | :07:21. | |
them saying "well done" and that is what this sums up what they have | :07:22. | :07:27. | |
come to say. Well done. Not only for Welsh football, for Welsh sport as a | :07:28. | :07:32. | |
whole. There is a huge range of ages here. Lots of children and older | :07:33. | :07:37. | |
people with the Welsh flag draped around their shoulders. This is | :07:38. | :07:41. | |
really a feel day. The excitement is building. We will just have to wait | :07:42. | :07:47. | |
a little longer until they arrive. . Well, the bus now is making its | :07:48. | :08:01. | |
way to the centre of Cardiff. Just going through Maindypool. This is | :08:02. | :08:09. | |
about five minutes' drive from the Principality Stadium. So two coaches | :08:10. | :08:17. | |
weaving its way into Cardiff. It is lively in the city centre but it | :08:18. | :08:23. | |
will be a crescendo when the buses approach the city centre and Cardiff | :08:24. | :08:28. | |
Castle. I don't suppose there has been a | :08:29. | :08:32. | |
footballing occasion, a return to home, if you like, since Cardiff | :08:33. | :08:37. | |
City in 1927, when they won the FA Cup. They had a fantastic return to | :08:38. | :08:44. | |
the city centre. They came back by train so all of that was centred | :08:45. | :08:49. | |
around the Central Station. But this is very, very special indeed. I | :08:50. | :08:52. | |
cannot remember a Welsh football team. We have had rugby occasions in | :08:53. | :08:58. | |
the past, of course, when we have had great wins, performances, | :08:59. | :09:02. | |
whatever but nothing match this in football terms. As we said earlier, | :09:03. | :09:09. | |
in 1958, even though it was a World Cup, it was a much lower-key | :09:10. | :09:15. | |
occasion. As it tended to be. Television was in its infancy, as | :09:16. | :09:19. | |
such. So we did not have the comp we have. | :09:20. | :09:25. | |
Here they are close to the City Hall, then they have an entrance | :09:26. | :09:29. | |
into the back of the castle, then they go through the castle to the | :09:30. | :09:33. | |
front where the official parade is to start. | :09:34. | :09:37. | |
It seems that the campaign has touched so many people. Even people | :09:38. | :09:42. | |
who are not football fans. When my mother e-mailed me, and giving her | :09:43. | :09:48. | |
unique take on the football matches, when she has never watched a | :09:49. | :09:53. | |
football match in her life! When you see the viewing figures,ed record | :09:54. | :09:58. | |
audiences, more than 1.4 million, 2 million to watch a football game. We | :09:59. | :10:08. | |
have come a long way. Eve no-one Chris Coleman's times as the | :10:09. | :10:12. | |
manager, as he said himself, in his early days as a manager, there was | :10:13. | :10:17. | |
no success at all. He had a vision as a team but playing in front of | :10:18. | :10:23. | |
low attendances, to attend a Wales game was almost an imposition. You | :10:24. | :10:28. | |
were not seeing anything special. About this group of players | :10:29. | :10:33. | |
transcended all of that, and my goodness me, they deserve their | :10:34. | :10:36. | |
rewards. So, the coaches are making their way | :10:37. | :10:39. | |
now. Nearly there. The wait is nearly over for the | :10:40. | :10:43. | |
fans. The fans want to see their heroes. | :10:44. | :10:54. | |
Let's now go... The bus is now approaching the castle grounds. | :10:55. | :11:02. | |
Diolch is emblazoned on the coaches. A squad who are grateful for the | :11:03. | :11:08. | |
support and we are a grateful nation. We have achieved so much | :11:09. | :11:13. | |
this summer. They have put us on the map. I was | :11:14. | :11:19. | |
listening to a programme on BBC Radio, saying that so many people | :11:20. | :11:23. | |
throughout the world think of Wales as part of England, well they know | :11:24. | :11:28. | |
now it is different indeed in football terms and other terms as | :11:29. | :11:32. | |
well. The spin-off of the success of our football team will be I normous. | :11:33. | :11:36. | |
But today this is about them. And our thanks. And the buses are right, | :11:37. | :11:47. | |
"Diolch" expresses the thanks for the excitement that they have given | :11:48. | :11:53. | |
us over the last Fife weeks or so. And what of the Cardiff Castle | :11:54. | :11:57. | |
there, and the sun making an appearance as well. Now, let's head | :11:58. | :12:02. | |
down to the fans and our reporter, Caroline Evans. | :12:03. | :12:07. | |
Well, done here in Wellington Street, the excitement is building. | :12:08. | :12:11. | |
The fans are starting to arrive. This will be the last leg for the | :12:12. | :12:16. | |
bus as it heads down to the stadium for the concert with the Manic | :12:17. | :12:20. | |
Street Preachers playing. That is sold out. The tickets are gone. You | :12:21. | :12:25. | |
don't need a ticket to come here to line the streets, that is what the | :12:26. | :12:29. | |
fans are doing. If you are thinking of coming down, this is a good | :12:30. | :12:35. | |
vantage point. A straight road down Wellington streeted. All of the fans | :12:36. | :12:39. | |
can line up to get a great view of the bus. The council have told me | :12:40. | :12:44. | |
that they turned this around in 36 hours. The tightest turn around that | :12:45. | :12:48. | |
they have done. They are confident it will go well. And the fans now | :12:49. | :12:53. | |
are beginning to arrive as you can see. | :12:54. | :12:56. | |
Another sea of red to welcome the bus. We can only imagine what the | :12:57. | :13:01. | |
players will be thinking as they drive here, a route that they have | :13:02. | :13:05. | |
driven around many times, now welcomed home in this way. And of | :13:06. | :13:09. | |
course the point of this is that you don't have to know that much about | :13:10. | :13:14. | |
football, to understand the offside rule, do you? But to engage with the | :13:15. | :13:19. | |
passion, the passion we have seen on that field, no brought home, our | :13:20. | :13:24. | |
chance to say thank you, and to say well done. Caroline, don't worry, I | :13:25. | :13:36. | |
can explain the offside rule. There are lovely shots of thester of | :13:37. | :13:42. | |
Cardiff. -- the centre of Cardiff. | :13:43. | :13:49. | |
We have seen the park and the cricket stadium. We really are a | :13:50. | :13:54. | |
sporting nation. We are indeed. Rugby has grabbed the | :13:55. | :14:00. | |
attention a little more, rightly so. But football is a world game. We | :14:01. | :14:07. | |
have taken on the might of Europe, really. We reached the last four. | :14:08. | :14:14. | |
All but reached the final. It would have been a remarkable achievement | :14:15. | :14:18. | |
had we gone that step further but if we asked the players before the | :14:19. | :14:22. | |
start of the tournament to get us to the last four, as close to the final | :14:23. | :14:27. | |
as they can and they produced this, we would have thought it was | :14:28. | :14:32. | |
fairytale. As it is, they have done it, produced it, given us huge | :14:33. | :14:36. | |
pleasure and in amongst that they played wonderful football. They will | :14:37. | :14:41. | |
now go up to the top 12 nations in the world in football. And also, and | :14:42. | :14:48. | |
not to put too fine a point on it, above England as well. | :14:49. | :14:54. | |
The thoughts of Ron Jones, the football commentator, a familiar | :14:55. | :15:03. | |
voice to many of you. If you are watching, you are watching a BBC | :15:04. | :15:08. | |
News Special. Watching the return of the Welsh football team. There are | :15:09. | :15:13. | |
thousands upon thousands of fans lining the street. Ron, you were | :15:14. | :15:20. | |
talking about the media coverage, and people like me, the Swede itch | :15:21. | :15:29. | |
television, the Japanese TV but the star name is Gareth Bale. His | :15:30. | :15:33. | |
professional is massive, it is Galactic. It is a huge boost to | :15:34. | :15:39. | |
Wales? Of course, in the 1938 team, we had a huge star in the John | :15:40. | :15:43. | |
Charles. He was playing Europe. There is a parallel with Gareth | :15:44. | :15:47. | |
Bale. He was the star of our team at that time. Playing for Juventus in | :15:48. | :15:53. | |
Italy, a wonderful player. Gareth Bale is similar in this respect. And | :15:54. | :15:58. | |
of course with the extended coverage that we get now in terms of | :15:59. | :16:05. | |
television, in terms of the written word, radio, whatever, Gareth Bale's | :16:06. | :16:10. | |
star is in the ascendency. It was interesting up to the Portugal game, | :16:11. | :16:16. | |
and we have to say that Ronaldo won the game for Portugal but those two | :16:17. | :16:21. | |
have pretty well reached level status. I suspect over the next | :16:22. | :16:27. | |
season or so Gareth will go beyond Ronaldo and he will be one of the | :16:28. | :16:31. | |
two or three best players in the world. | :16:32. | :16:35. | |
And he is the man that a lot of the media, especially outside of Wales | :16:36. | :16:39. | |
want to talk to after the games. He is that magnet. He has the | :16:40. | :16:43. | |
professional. We are looking at the scenes now in the centre of Cardiff. | :16:44. | :16:49. | |
A stone's throw from the Principality Stadium and the main | :16:50. | :16:52. | |
shopping area. The heart of the capital. Cardiff Castle ready to | :16:53. | :16:57. | |
welcome Chris Coleman and his players. I guess we can stop talking | :16:58. | :17:03. | |
now about waiting 58 years. I'm sick of saying it to be honest. | :17:04. | :17:08. | |
What I hope, Thomas is that this does not become an end. It has been | :17:09. | :17:12. | |
a wonderful achievement. It will be marked today here and in the weeks I | :17:13. | :17:19. | |
hope it will be a starting point for football. We have a wonderful group | :17:20. | :17:23. | |
of young players. We could do with a little extra strength in depth, | :17:24. | :17:28. | |
maybe but we do have a wonderful group of young players who should be | :17:29. | :17:32. | |
together now for a number of years. We have a starting season in | :17:33. | :17:35. | |
September, a World Cup qualifying group. | :17:36. | :17:41. | |
We have Serbia, Moldova, Austria, Republic of Ireland, and we have a | :17:42. | :17:46. | |
great chance to qualify for the next World Cup in Russia. I hope we can | :17:47. | :17:55. | |
go on and make qualifying for major tournaments, an auto mattic event. | :17:56. | :17:59. | |
If we can do that, that will really build on what these guys have | :18:00. | :18:02. | |
achieved. We have seen the police outriders | :18:03. | :18:07. | |
squeezing through the space. I don't think that the coach can squeeze | :18:08. | :18:12. | |
there. It is at a stand still at the moment. And just look at the crowds | :18:13. | :18:15. | |
there. Many of them taking the time off | :18:16. | :18:20. | |
work to be here. Many taking time off school to be there. Well, | :18:21. | :18:25. | |
impressive crowds. And Kate Morgan is down there. What is the | :18:26. | :18:34. | |
atmosphere like there, Kate. Thanks, Thomas, we are waiting for | :18:35. | :18:37. | |
the castle doors to open. For the team to get out of here. There have | :18:38. | :18:43. | |
been a few false alarms and a lot of security staff, there are so many | :18:44. | :18:48. | |
fans here. There are thousands here. They got a huge cheer when some | :18:49. | :18:53. | |
walked out but they were not the team. Here it is packed with the | :18:54. | :18:56. | |
fans. There are people on the roofs of | :18:57. | :19:02. | |
buildings. There are those up above the shops | :19:03. | :19:08. | |
with the best views. A bit of a party atmosphere. | :19:09. | :19:13. | |
Some of the fans I have spoken to, they have been in Paris, Toulouse. | :19:14. | :19:17. | |
Here the police helicopter is circling above. So it must mean that | :19:18. | :19:22. | |
they are very near. They could be in the castle. They have been following | :19:23. | :19:25. | |
the route today. We are waiting for the moment. The flags are weighing. | :19:26. | :19:30. | |
Everybody is getting excited. There is a sense of anticipation in the | :19:31. | :19:33. | |
air building. That is because people want to say well done. To be a part | :19:34. | :19:38. | |
of it. People who did not get out to go to France to share in that part | :19:39. | :19:42. | |
of the journey, they are here today as they want to share in it. There | :19:43. | :19:47. | |
is a real experience that the team belong to the fans and the fans are | :19:48. | :19:52. | |
very much a part of the team. The people I have spoken to get that | :19:53. | :19:56. | |
feeling. It is very loud. Noise you, young, old, we are all waiting. I'm | :19:57. | :20:02. | |
sure it will not be much longer. But for now, it is back to Thomas. | :20:03. | :20:06. | |
Kate, thank you very much, you will not have to wait long. They have | :20:07. | :20:11. | |
left the bus now. This are walking through the grounds of Cardiff | :20:12. | :20:16. | |
Castle. In the next few minutes the place will erupt when the fans will | :20:17. | :20:20. | |
have a glimpse of their players, of their heroes. | :20:21. | :20:26. | |
They have exceeded all expect nations this summer. At the back, | :20:27. | :20:33. | |
Gareth Bale, the delight to go, the most expensive player in the world. | :20:34. | :20:38. | |
His Real Madrid team-mates got the better of Wales in the semifinals. | :20:39. | :20:45. | |
But there were not many tears. Ron Jones is with me, football | :20:46. | :20:50. | |
commentator. People were proud, despite defeat against Portugal? | :20:51. | :20:56. | |
Disappointment, inevitably, stand fast, we wanted to get to the final. | :20:57. | :21:01. | |
But I think the achievement was so great, the players had conducted | :21:02. | :21:06. | |
themselves so well. And as we watch them walking through the grounds of | :21:07. | :21:09. | |
the castle to the front of the castle, where the coach will pick | :21:10. | :21:13. | |
them up to take them on their tour of the city and eventually back here | :21:14. | :21:17. | |
to the Cardiff City Stadium. They are in their tracksuits, they look | :21:18. | :21:20. | |
very relaxed, chatting amongst themselves. Gareth Bale towards the | :21:21. | :21:25. | |
back, as you say. In some ways that is indicative of what he is all | :21:26. | :21:28. | |
about as well. Very much part of the team. There is no big elders amongst | :21:29. | :21:35. | |
this group of players. Aaron Ramsey -- no-bid star. | :21:36. | :21:49. | |
-- with his new haircut, standing out. This is the modern footballer. | :21:50. | :21:55. | |
Posing for photographs, with the castle keep behind them. We are so | :21:56. | :22:00. | |
lucky, Tomos, that it is a lovely fine day here as well. This adds to | :22:01. | :22:05. | |
the occasion. Great for the crowds, in their red shirts. I was amazed as | :22:06. | :22:10. | |
I was coming down here this afternoon and many people were | :22:11. | :22:12. | |
coming down on the trains on the buses - all in red shirts. And there | :22:13. | :22:19. | |
is that wonderful group of players, in the castle grounds, having | :22:20. | :22:23. | |
photographed together, looking so, so relaxed. It is a wonderful sight. | :22:24. | :22:31. | |
All smiles from the players. We are joined by another broadcaster now. | :22:32. | :22:38. | |
It is amazing. It is incredible, we have created this wonderful | :22:39. | :22:45. | |
community today. It is wonderful. What does this do for brand Wales? | :22:46. | :22:50. | |
Wales playing on the world stage? I think it is branding in three ways. | :22:51. | :22:55. | |
Within Wales, we start to think differently about ourselves as a | :22:56. | :22:59. | |
nation. In Britain as a whole, we have had the Daily Telegraph putting | :23:00. | :23:03. | |
Welsh on the front page. This morning we have had Phil and Holly | :23:04. | :23:09. | |
speaking Welsh. And internationally, football is the only global sport. | :23:10. | :23:14. | |
You achieve in football and you capture the imagination of millions, | :23:15. | :23:18. | |
maybe billions of people. And they have done it beautifully. This was | :23:19. | :23:23. | |
after the photocall, the players slowly making their way. Any second | :23:24. | :23:27. | |
now we will hear the crowd. We will know when they will be close. What | :23:28. | :23:31. | |
have you made of the tournament? It has been an amazing four or five | :23:32. | :23:37. | |
weeks? It has been incredible. I did actually predict on BBC radio Wales | :23:38. | :23:41. | |
that we would get to the semifinals. But I think we have exceeded all of | :23:42. | :23:47. | |
our wildest dreams. Not just from a sporting pass if, but the way they | :23:48. | :23:52. | |
have conducted themselves. The fans have been a joy to watch. -- | :23:53. | :23:59. | |
sporting. There had been some trouble, and suddenly, Wales | :24:00. | :24:07. | |
arrived, and it was all joy. I think the Diolch - Together We Are | :24:08. | :24:09. | |
Stronger Motol has been fantastic for all of us. Yes, the praise for | :24:10. | :24:22. | |
the Wales fans, many of them were teaching fans from other nations | :24:23. | :24:29. | |
their songs. I heard Don't Take Me Home in other language, many weeks | :24:30. | :24:33. | |
ago. Just fill in the blanks for us. I was in France for five weeks - | :24:34. | :24:39. | |
what was the reaction of fans like back home when Wales were | :24:40. | :24:42. | |
progressing through the tournament? It was incredible. In the early | :24:43. | :24:46. | |
games we were trying to catch it during working hours. The pubs were | :24:47. | :24:52. | |
selling out, however! And looking at your social media feed in the | :24:53. | :25:02. | |
morning, it was friends and relatives over there, the media, | :25:03. | :25:07. | |
wall-to-wall coverage, personalities have spoken about their reaction to | :25:08. | :25:10. | |
it. Just everybody has spoken about it. We have all been totally | :25:11. | :25:17. | |
expressed for five weeks. Normally I am an egg chaser but I really | :25:18. | :25:23. | |
appreciate the round ball now! Even David Hasselhoff got involved, | :25:24. | :25:26. | |
wishing Gareth Bale and the boys would look. So, the fans outside | :25:27. | :25:32. | |
Cardiff Castle, waiting patiently. They have been waiting there for any | :25:33. | :25:37. | |
many hours now, waiting for the moment to come when Chris, will lead | :25:38. | :25:43. | |
out his players. Fair play to the players, they have been away from | :25:44. | :25:46. | |
home for five weeks, they have seen their families for a day or so | :25:47. | :25:50. | |
during that. I'm sure they have got holidays to go to. Pre-season starts | :25:51. | :25:56. | |
pretty soon! Some of them are even getting married. I would love to see | :25:57. | :26:01. | |
Joe Ledley's first dance! They have made incredible sacrifices. They | :26:02. | :26:06. | |
have been together as a group intensive leave any weeks. Weddings | :26:07. | :26:10. | |
have not been attended, Beyonce concerts...! What a tragedy that is! | :26:11. | :26:22. | |
A disappointed Neil Taylor! It is looking quite biblical now, isn't | :26:23. | :26:28. | |
it? Incredible! Ron Jones, what do you make of social media? The | :26:29. | :26:33. | |
players of 1958 did not have such things? Do you think it helps, to | :26:34. | :26:36. | |
maintain that connection? You cannot compare the two. I | :26:37. | :26:56. | |
suspect the players in 1958 in Sweden, if they wanted to | :26:57. | :26:59. | |
communicate home, they probably had to write a letter. It arrived about | :27:00. | :27:03. | |
five days later. You cannot compare the two. We are seeing pictures of | :27:04. | :27:08. | |
the crowds, hundreds, thousands, waiting. We saw the videos of when | :27:09. | :27:18. | |
Iceland beat England, Wales squad celebrating. Why so much fuss over | :27:19. | :27:27. | |
nothing? It is a natural reaction, as Welsh fan. I did wonder whether | :27:28. | :27:31. | |
it should have been released at the time. But actually, with the banter, | :27:32. | :27:37. | |
it was taken in the spirit in which it was intended. Did you catch the | :27:38. | :27:44. | |
video last night, semi naked players, doing the hakka? Those | :27:45. | :27:53. | |
lovely white bodies! What I liked was that they were celebrating the | :27:54. | :27:59. | |
Iceland win, rather than the England defeat. I think the marketing has | :28:00. | :28:08. | |
been outstanding. Something like Diolch - Together, Stronger, it has | :28:09. | :28:11. | |
been organic, not contrived or corporate. It has just grown into | :28:12. | :28:21. | |
something wonderful. The fans cheering, as the police outriders | :28:22. | :28:24. | |
come out onto the road. The players cannot be too far behind. They have | :28:25. | :28:37. | |
been very patient, Tomos, but they have waited this long, they can wait | :28:38. | :28:42. | |
another ten minutes. Read is obviously the predominant colour. -- | :28:43. | :28:50. | |
red. I cannot imagine how sales of football kit has gone over the last | :28:51. | :28:54. | |
few weeks. Almost everybody now has got a red football shirt. Even on | :28:55. | :29:00. | |
the way here, there were some merchandisers en route! Put this | :29:01. | :29:06. | |
into context for us - compared with other sports, how big a deal is this | :29:07. | :29:10. | |
in the context of Welsh sport? Is massive. Obviously, we saw the Welsh | :29:11. | :29:14. | |
road B-team getting to the semifinals of the World Cup, and how | :29:15. | :29:21. | |
wonderful that was. But as I said earlier, football is the global | :29:22. | :29:25. | |
game. If you achieve on that stage, everybody knows about it. People | :29:26. | :29:29. | |
will know about Wales for the first time. I was speaking to me visit | :29:30. | :29:35. | |
Wales, and they said searches have gone up tenfold. No advertising | :29:36. | :29:41. | |
campaign or PR strategy could possibly achieve this. It is just | :29:42. | :29:47. | |
down to a squad of talented footballers. The fans are cheering. | :29:48. | :29:55. | |
Aaron Ramsey is on the top of the wall there. Crowd, responding. And | :29:56. | :30:05. | |
Chris Gunter is with him, taking selfies. Close friends from Cardiff | :30:06. | :30:14. | |
City many years ago. They have both moved on to different clubs now. You | :30:15. | :30:19. | |
see pictures on social media, they are always together, close friends | :30:20. | :30:24. | |
within the Wales camp. It is a day the players will never forget. They | :30:25. | :30:31. | |
certainly won't. They have conducted themselves so well. This is another | :30:32. | :30:36. | |
thing which has always impressed me. We have spoken about Gareth Bale's | :30:37. | :30:39. | |
qualities as a footballer. I think he has grown as a man over the last | :30:40. | :30:43. | |
few weeks, the way he has fronted up for interviews, no matter whether | :30:44. | :30:47. | |
they have won or lost, and in between as well. He has had a bit of | :30:48. | :30:52. | |
mischief about in, which I quite like. I have really enjoyed that bit | :30:53. | :30:58. | |
of mischief from him. But nonetheless, every single player, | :30:59. | :31:02. | |
every single official with the team, Chris Coleman himself, they have all | :31:03. | :31:07. | |
conducted themselves impeccably. It sounds a bit of a cliche about them | :31:08. | :31:14. | |
enjoying themselves, but they really do seem to have enjoyed every single | :31:15. | :31:18. | |
moment of the tournament. The word people keep using in relation to | :31:19. | :31:22. | |
this campaign for Wales, is joy. It is the team ethic as well. The focus | :31:23. | :31:28. | |
was all on Gareth Bale initially, and he made sure everybody took | :31:29. | :31:32. | |
credit. And here we go. The support staff are coming out, filming it on | :31:33. | :31:40. | |
their mobile phones. And these are the people you do not necessarily | :31:41. | :31:44. | |
recognise, the support staff, the backroom staff. The | :31:45. | :31:52. | |
physiotherapists. It is a big operation these days, Tomos. A | :31:53. | :31:58. | |
massive crescendo written squad makes it sway onto the street, at | :31:59. | :32:08. | |
Cardiff gate. The backroom staff have just walked out to the biggest | :32:09. | :32:11. | |
round of applause. There's quite a few of them. I think the crowd knows | :32:12. | :32:16. | |
exactly what their role has been. They are of course waiting for the | :32:17. | :32:21. | |
team. We spotted them on top of the Castle Ward earlier. They are now | :32:22. | :32:27. | |
waiting for the team. We must be moments away. -- the castle wall. | :32:28. | :32:34. | |
Just down St Mary's streak is where they will board their buses. First | :32:35. | :32:37. | |
of all, they will get a huge welcome. The flags waving. I think | :32:38. | :32:44. | |
people have got eyes everywhere. That is after seeing them up on the | :32:45. | :32:48. | |
turret! The anticipation is almost too much for a lot of the fans. | :32:49. | :32:54. | |
Everyone is having a good time. All eyes are on those castle gates at | :32:55. | :32:57. | |
the moment. We're just waiting and waiting. There was a huge applause | :32:58. | :33:02. | |
for some photographers who worked out first of all. I cannot even | :33:03. | :33:06. | |
begin to imagine... The noise is starting to build so that it may be | :33:07. | :33:11. | |
any moment now. The helicopters are still circling. There are two of | :33:12. | :33:16. | |
them. The people across the road have probably got the best view, in | :33:17. | :33:26. | |
their windows. We are just waiting. There are two Roman centurions as a | :33:27. | :33:36. | |
sort of guard of honour outside. We are still waiting. The excitement is | :33:37. | :33:40. | |
building. Most of the fans here today have been here for a good | :33:41. | :33:46. | |
hour. Some of them, for three hours. So they have waited a little while. | :33:47. | :33:51. | |
But I don't think there is anybody who would complain about that. They | :33:52. | :33:55. | |
have all got massive smiles on their faces. Tomos, back to you. Kate | :33:56. | :34:01. | |
Morgan, thank you very much. Enjoy it. Incredible scenes? It is | :34:02. | :34:07. | |
wonderful. I love seeing the players on the turret of the castle. | :34:08. | :34:15. | |
Fabulous! What about the way the FAW has managed things over the last | :34:16. | :34:18. | |
weeks and months. Are there lessons to be learned for other institutions | :34:19. | :34:24. | |
in Wales? Very much so vastly the use of Welsh, I think that has been | :34:25. | :34:28. | |
a huge plus. It has been integral to the campaign, and other people have | :34:29. | :34:35. | |
pick up on it in the media. We saw them with T-shirts at the end of the | :34:36. | :34:40. | |
Paul Jewell Portugal game with Diolch - Together, Stronger | :34:41. | :34:46. | |
T-shirts. -- of the Portugal game. And Chris Coleman talking about, | :34:47. | :34:49. | |
don't give up on your dreams. One teacher from a primary school work | :34:50. | :34:54. | |
to me to say that he had used Chris Coleman's quotes to inspire his | :34:55. | :35:03. | |
pupils. To show that success comes with failure on the way, sometimes. | :35:04. | :35:06. | |
You would not mess with those Roman guards! Security is very tight in | :35:07. | :35:15. | |
Cardiff today! The players now are going to make the grand entrance. | :35:16. | :35:26. | |
And eventually they will be going on to weave their way through the | :35:27. | :35:30. | |
streets of Cardiff on the open-top bus parade. And then there will be a | :35:31. | :35:36. | |
special show, with the Manic Street Preachers headlining a concert for | :35:37. | :35:39. | |
the fans, 33,000, at the Cardiff City Stadium. | :35:40. | :35:47. | |
Ron, you have covered football for decades... Give us an idea of the | :35:48. | :36:03. | |
near-misses, the failures? Oh, gosh. Too much pain. I did say earlier, | :36:04. | :36:08. | |
awaited throughout my broadcasting core to cover Wales in an important | :36:09. | :36:14. | |
match but I think that the one that I remember the most of all... Sorry, | :36:15. | :36:21. | |
Ron, Chris Coleman. The man who led the nation to this success. | :36:22. | :36:27. | |
Remarkable, really, when you think he contemplated quitting after a few | :36:28. | :36:32. | |
games. Heavy defeats. Heavy defeats in Serbia. 6-1 | :36:33. | :36:38. | |
defeats. But look at him now, leading the squad out after making | :36:39. | :36:42. | |
it so far in the European Championships. | :36:43. | :36:46. | |
The players in red, clapping, applauding the fans. | :36:47. | :36:55. | |
There are fans waving, the flags waving. They have waited many, many | :36:56. | :37:04. | |
hours for this moment. And the players themselves, they | :37:05. | :37:08. | |
wouldn't have had any #yd, really, what was happening at home. | :37:09. | :37:13. | |
They had during the match days, and in the build up to the match, thank | :37:14. | :37:19. | |
you very much very much aware of this huge band of followers, of the | :37:20. | :37:25. | |
wall of red, as they dallied, the supporters in the stadiums. They | :37:26. | :37:29. | |
would have had some indication that they were hugely supported back | :37:30. | :37:32. | |
home. That there was great excitement at home at their | :37:33. | :37:37. | |
achievement but it is probably only now it is brought home to them just | :37:38. | :37:42. | |
what all of this has meant to everyone who supported them and to | :37:43. | :37:45. | |
them themselves. They themselves now can feel a part of this with all of | :37:46. | :37:51. | |
the supporters at home. It is overwhelming. | :37:52. | :37:59. | |
It must be. Something, they have said that they | :38:00. | :38:03. | |
will remember this for all of their lives. No matter what else they do | :38:04. | :38:09. | |
in football, or in anything in their lives, they will be special. Gareth | :38:10. | :38:13. | |
Bale a truly great player, playing on the world stage all of the time, | :38:14. | :38:19. | |
not all of the players can say that but he can with Real Madrid. He does | :38:20. | :38:24. | |
not get a single moment in a single day where he is peacefully left | :38:25. | :38:29. | |
alone, he is a real star of the football stage. But he integrated | :38:30. | :38:33. | |
himself into the team. Part of the team. Just another player, albeit a | :38:34. | :38:44. | |
great one but even he, I think, will beally overwhelmed by what is | :38:45. | :38:47. | |
happening. It is pretty special, to say the least. | :38:48. | :38:53. | |
Great scenes here in Cardiff. And these pictures will go across | :38:54. | :38:59. | |
the world in the same way that the country of Iceland welcomed their | :39:00. | :39:03. | |
boys home. People will see Cardiff, the wonderful place it is, the | :39:04. | :39:09. | |
castle in the background and these scenes. | :39:10. | :39:12. | |
There he is, walking up the High Street. | :39:13. | :39:15. | |
On to the buses. And a word about that man, Chris | :39:16. | :39:21. | |
Coleman. He signed a new contract. The importance of continue youity? | :39:22. | :39:25. | |
Paramount importance to continue youity. You mentioned the fact he | :39:26. | :39:30. | |
had a difficult start to his career. Of course he did. He took over from | :39:31. | :39:36. | |
Gary Speed, that was not easy. That period when they were losing | :39:37. | :39:40. | |
matches, that was difficult. We did not have crowds in the stadium. But | :39:41. | :39:45. | |
he lifted us. He showed us the vision of what could be achieved | :39:46. | :39:51. | |
with the players he has. And others involved Brian Finn who managed to | :39:52. | :39:54. | |
recruit the players, when they were younger than they are now, who | :39:55. | :39:59. | |
brought them into the fold and now is paying dividends. But we need | :40:00. | :40:04. | |
Chris Coleman to take us on to the next level. | :40:05. | :40:10. | |
And the building blocks were put in place with John Toshack. | :40:11. | :40:17. | |
We owe a lot to him. There was a sense of journey, a climax to the | :40:18. | :40:21. | |
semi-finals, and there has been that from the beginning. What impressed | :40:22. | :40:26. | |
me with Chris Coleman, there is often mind games, messing with the | :40:27. | :40:31. | |
press, the players' minds but he is straightforward, down to earth, | :40:32. | :40:34. | |
honest and transparent. It is refreshing. | :40:35. | :40:44. | |
The thoughts of Karen and Ron Jones. You are watching the special | :40:45. | :40:51. | |
coverage by the BBC of the homecoming of the weal football team | :40:52. | :40:55. | |
after a long month in France. It started in Bordeaux many, many weeks | :40:56. | :41:00. | |
ago. Take us back, how special was it to hear the National Anthem for | :41:01. | :41:04. | |
the first time ever at a major tournament? We had arrived? 58 years | :41:05. | :41:11. | |
later, we were there. And then who could have imagined where we would | :41:12. | :41:16. | |
end up? We are were just glad to be there. This was the first match. | :41:17. | :41:20. | |
Talking about the National Anthem, I have never seen so many players sing | :41:21. | :41:27. | |
the anthem and sing it correctly. That was superb to see. | :41:28. | :41:32. | |
And to hear it spontaneously. I would love to hear it in a rugby | :41:33. | :41:36. | |
match. You might now. | :41:37. | :41:45. | |
And now the players are on the bus. Jason Mohammed's father is | :41:46. | :41:47. | |
apparently the bus driver! A great touch. | :41:48. | :41:58. | |
No producer! -- no pressure. And any moment now I think that the | :41:59. | :42:02. | |
bus is to start to make its way through the streets of Cardiff. The | :42:03. | :42:06. | |
destination is the Cardiff City Stadium. They are passing the | :42:07. | :42:22. | |
Principality Stadium. Chris Coleman said there were options to see games | :42:23. | :42:28. | |
played. Where would you like to see the games played? I can see where | :42:29. | :42:33. | |
Wales are coming from, they have seen a tradition here. With the fans | :42:34. | :42:40. | |
coming through as they are, I can see where they are coming from. If | :42:41. | :42:47. | |
the demand is such that you can fill the Principality Stadium, from a | :42:48. | :42:52. | |
cultural, a spiritual point of view, it will be the right decision to | :42:53. | :42:56. | |
stay near. They have done it in the past were | :42:57. | :43:01. | |
playing Italy, Germany in qualifying matches. It can be done. It will be | :43:02. | :43:05. | |
a temptation. We have the Republic of Ireland to | :43:06. | :43:08. | |
play in the qualifying group for the World Cup. They will be bringing in | :43:09. | :43:16. | |
supporters from Ireland. There will be the temptation there to maybe go | :43:17. | :43:20. | |
to the Principality Stadium. Thank you. | :43:21. | :43:28. | |
Now let's head down as the bus is starting to move, the two buses | :43:29. | :43:32. | |
slowly making their way through the streets. Let's hand now to Kate | :43:33. | :43:41. | |
Morgan on the ground. Hiya Kate? Yes, Thomas, thank you. Well the | :43:42. | :43:45. | |
team have not long come from the castle. They are on the bus, heading | :43:46. | :43:54. | |
down St Mary's Street. A really special moment, huge numbers of fans | :43:55. | :44:00. | |
cheering, applauding. This is a fan who has come here today. What was it | :44:01. | :44:05. | |
like to see the team a few moments ago? Fantastic. A big thank you, | :44:06. | :44:12. | |
amazing, really good. You were saying you have been a | :44:13. | :44:16. | |
football fan since being a little girl. Did you ever think there would | :44:17. | :44:20. | |
be a day like this? Never in a million years did I think we would | :44:21. | :44:24. | |
be in the semi-finals of the Euros. I think it is absolutely amazing. I | :44:25. | :44:28. | |
think that they have done a wonderful job for Wales. Great | :44:29. | :44:31. | |
ambassadors. Everyone that was out there had a wonderful time | :44:32. | :44:35. | |
supporting them. Marvellous. What does it mean to you, you have | :44:36. | :44:41. | |
travelled out to France, you have come back, your euro 2016 is over, | :44:42. | :44:46. | |
how are you feeling? I know. We are so proud of them. We would have | :44:47. | :44:50. | |
loved them to have gone all the way. They nearly did it. They did us | :44:51. | :44:56. | |
proud. We tlorl enjoyed the journey with them. They have been great | :44:57. | :45:03. | |
ambassadors. Very friendly. Friendly to the fans to the supporters and | :45:04. | :45:09. | |
everybody out there was awesome. Amazing. We were so glad we went to | :45:10. | :45:14. | |
Paris. We went to Toulouse, we enjoyed it so much. We stayed on, we | :45:15. | :45:19. | |
went to Paris. It was just fantastic. If we could have, we | :45:20. | :45:24. | |
would have stayed longer. I'm sure you would have! And together we are | :45:25. | :45:31. | |
stronger, you feel a very much a part of this with the team? | :45:32. | :45:37. | |
Definitely. We were out there. So were thousands of fans. I don't | :45:38. | :45:41. | |
think there was anybody left in Wales. You felt that everybody was | :45:42. | :45:45. | |
together. It did not matter what part of Wales you came from, north, | :45:46. | :45:51. | |
south, Mid Wales, or even Welsh and lived in England. Some other | :45:52. | :45:56. | |
country, it did not matter. We were all together. | :45:57. | :46:00. | |
They are moving on now but seeing so many football fans, are you pleased | :46:01. | :46:06. | |
to see so many out in the sport, and the support that it previous has not | :46:07. | :46:13. | |
had? Yes. Even rugby, them supporting Wales, they have enjoyed | :46:14. | :46:17. | |
it so much and now the supporters feel that they have a football team | :46:18. | :46:22. | |
as well as a rugby team. I am glad to see football doing that as well | :46:23. | :46:27. | |
as rugby. Really happy about that. And the Welsh football fans, are | :46:28. | :46:32. | |
they going to head on more foreign trips? Yes. | :46:33. | :46:37. | |
That will be amazing. We'll be there all the way. | :46:38. | :46:45. | |
So this has been a lovely day to finish off a wonderful year and 2016 | :46:46. | :46:50. | |
Brilliant. Brilliant. | :46:51. | :46:56. | |
It's been lovely go to the stadium. Brilliant, I will not keep you. | :46:57. | :47:00. | |
You have to warm up to join the party. Enjoy it. Thank you very | :47:01. | :47:02. | |
much. Thank you. I think that most of the | :47:03. | :47:06. | |
fans are maybing their way as well. As soon as they come out, some of | :47:07. | :47:10. | |
the fans made their way down the street. What they wanted to do was | :47:11. | :47:16. | |
to get another place along the route to get another glimpse of the team. | :47:17. | :47:20. | |
That is how popular they are. There is lots of chanting of Wales. Lots | :47:21. | :47:26. | |
of singing Don't Take Me Home but no-one is sad. They are making the | :47:27. | :47:31. | |
most of the party. They are enjoying themselves. This is a huge occasion. | :47:32. | :47:35. | |
Four weeks ago, would have thought that they would be here celebrating | :47:36. | :47:41. | |
this semi-final. Everyone is clearing. The sun is out in Cardiff | :47:42. | :47:48. | |
City centre. It really is a wonderful party atmosphere. The | :47:49. | :47:50. | |
sense from speaking to the fans is how much it means to them. How | :47:51. | :47:56. | |
everybody is in this together. The backroom staff came out first, then | :47:57. | :48:00. | |
the management came out and then the players. I get the sense that | :48:01. | :48:03. | |
everybody is in this together. Nobody wants it to be over, they are | :48:04. | :48:08. | |
making their way to the next part of the party, where you are, Thomas. | :48:09. | :48:15. | |
Kate, thank you very much indeed. Well, the sun is breaking through. | :48:16. | :48:20. | |
It is perfect timing. We saw the office work ears there at the | :48:21. | :48:26. | |
windows. A good vantage point as the bus went past. The chanting, that | :48:27. | :48:32. | |
song, Don't Take Me Home. The fans pleaded with the team, don't take me | :48:33. | :48:37. | |
home, they wanted to stay in France as long as possible. | :48:38. | :48:45. | |
The players there are with their cameras, they are taking selfies, a | :48:46. | :48:48. | |
moment that they will acrish forever. | :48:49. | :48:51. | |
Something to share with the family when they finally get home after | :48:52. | :48:57. | |
this long summer month. This eventful summer. This footballing | :48:58. | :49:02. | |
fairytale. Which no-one saw it coming, let's be honest. | :49:03. | :49:05. | |
No-one predicted that Wales would reach the last four of a major | :49:06. | :49:10. | |
tournament. Frankly, I never thought we would qualify. | :49:11. | :49:20. | |
Wales finally performed on the big stage. | :49:21. | :49:25. | |
Yea of little faith, Thomas. This is something that we learned. Often we | :49:26. | :49:31. | |
lack confidence and self-belief. We didn't even have a fan zone. | :49:32. | :49:36. | |
Suddenly there are tens of thousands of people piling in to watch the | :49:37. | :49:40. | |
games. Sometimes you have to have more belief as a nation and as our | :49:41. | :49:46. | |
team have shown us. The scenes when a goal was scored at | :49:47. | :49:52. | |
the fan zones and gallons of beer... Beer showers. My brother was out in | :49:53. | :50:01. | |
Lille when Ashley Williams put that goal in, he jumped so high he put | :50:02. | :50:10. | |
his back into a spasm. It was the quality of of the | :50:11. | :50:18. | |
football we played as well. We have managed to beat teams like | :50:19. | :50:25. | |
Germany, Italy, we really can defend. | :50:26. | :50:25. | |
Thank you very much. How much will this day in your mind | :50:26. | :50:52. | |
now? Oh, for ever. The whole experience from the start of | :50:53. | :51:14. | |
qualifying, to achieve it for the first time in 58 years we thought | :51:15. | :51:18. | |
was special, but to do what we have done and reach the semis, we would | :51:19. | :51:21. | |
not even have dreamt of that. We are trying to soak it in as much as | :51:22. | :51:24. | |
possible and remember it for the rest of our lives. You have got a | :51:25. | :51:27. | |
World Cup campaign coming up? Gap I think we deserve a few days to | :51:28. | :51:30. | |
recover from this first before we start to think about that! Yes, as | :51:31. | :51:32. | |
disappointing as it was the other night, we know that this is only the | :51:33. | :51:35. | |
beginning. We are all of a really good age, and hopefully this will be | :51:36. | :51:38. | |
a regular occurrence now. I do not want to embarrass you, but generally | :51:39. | :51:40. | |
speaking, you were one of the stars of Euro 2016 for Wales- what kind of | :51:41. | :51:43. | |
plaudits have you been getting? Yes, it is is always nice. I have always | :51:44. | :51:47. | |
been confident in my ability, but to play at the highest level, like I | :51:48. | :51:50. | |
have done, and to experience it for the first time, it is great. I have | :51:51. | :51:54. | |
been pleased with how I have performed personally. More | :51:55. | :51:58. | |
importantly, we are pleased that we have gone there as a squad and shown | :51:59. | :52:04. | |
the identity of Welsh football and performed how we can. They say, | :52:05. | :52:09. | |
don't take me home, you might have to go home soon? Yes. It is a shame | :52:10. | :52:13. | |
at the moment. We have all thoroughly enjoyed the experience | :52:14. | :52:17. | |
and the time we have spent with each other. We will probably get used to | :52:18. | :52:22. | |
a couple of weeks of not seeing the lads. All the best. Enjoy. Thank | :52:23. | :52:32. | |
you. That was James Chester. And Rob Phillips doing the interview. Rob | :52:33. | :52:35. | |
has the best job this afternoon, mingling with a multimillionaire | :52:36. | :52:40. | |
footballers on top of that bus. And we will be hearing more from them | :52:41. | :52:47. | |
throughout the afternoon. Well, the crowds are pretty impressive, not | :52:48. | :52:49. | |
only congregating in front of the castle, but all the way through the | :52:50. | :53:02. | |
city of Cardiff here. Ashley Williams, Gareth Bale... Ashley | :53:03. | :53:10. | |
Williams' performances during the campaign, a real captain. He was not | :53:11. | :53:15. | |
going to be taken off in that game against Northern Ireland. He | :53:16. | :53:19. | |
pleaded, I am OK, bass, don't take me off! It had been thought his | :53:20. | :53:24. | |
tournament might be over after that shoulder injury. A real captain for | :53:25. | :53:31. | |
Wales. Absolutely. And we never thought Joe Ledley would make it on | :53:32. | :53:34. | |
time for the tournament. It is mind over muscle. Let's head now back to | :53:35. | :53:45. | |
the centre of Cardiff, and in fact we can speak to Joe Allen on the | :53:46. | :54:06. | |
bus. They Speak In Welsh. Let's head to Caroline Evans, who is on the | :54:07. | :54:10. | |
ground. I have to say, I can hardly hear you down here. The atmosphere | :54:11. | :54:18. | |
is buzzing. Just take a look around. Hundreds and hundreds of people now | :54:19. | :54:24. | |
packing the scene. The reason they have come down here is because we | :54:25. | :54:28. | |
have got this long, straight route. They are hoping for a really good | :54:29. | :54:32. | |
view of the bus as it travels down through Cardiff. The last leg of the | :54:33. | :54:37. | |
tour, it is going to come down this road, around the corner and onto the | :54:38. | :54:41. | |
stadium. Just look of people lining the road. This is a real family | :54:42. | :54:46. | |
affair down here. We have got the very young to the not so young, all | :54:47. | :54:51. | |
joined together, sitting out in the sun and already cheering and making | :54:52. | :54:55. | |
a noise. And the bus is not even close yet! Let's have a word with | :54:56. | :55:00. | |
some of the fans. I hope you can hear them, because it is quite | :55:01. | :55:05. | |
difficult for us to hear. Are you a football fan or have you just been | :55:06. | :55:08. | |
caught up? No, I always love the football. But this has blown me | :55:09. | :55:15. | |
away, it really has. It is stupid but I have got my house decorated | :55:16. | :55:19. | |
and everything. It's not coming down until Monday, I don't care! We have | :55:20. | :55:23. | |
really enjoyed it. That is the spirit of the event. And you, are | :55:24. | :55:28. | |
you a football fan or are you caught up in the moment? No, I am a | :55:29. | :55:33. | |
football fan as well. I was lucky enough to be out in Bordeaux for the | :55:34. | :55:36. | |
opening game. The atmosphere was reminiscent of this, it was | :55:37. | :55:40. | |
wall-to-wall Welsh and a great atmosphere. What was it like for | :55:41. | :55:45. | |
you, that journey with the team, because of course they have been | :55:46. | :55:50. | |
through thin times? Yes, but this is the time to enjoy the good times and | :55:51. | :55:55. | |
make the most of it will stop you so proud of the players, they are | :55:56. | :55:58. | |
brilliant ambassadors for our country and we are here to show our | :55:59. | :56:03. | |
appreciation, really. Are you a football fan? Very much so. I | :56:04. | :56:11. | |
remember 1958. There was nothing like this. Although we got to the | :56:12. | :56:16. | |
quarterfinals in 1958, but there was no television coverage, as such. So, | :56:17. | :56:22. | |
a golden moment to be enjoyed. Yes. I will hand you back now. This is a | :56:23. | :56:32. | |
bit crazy, isn't it? It is, it shows how much it means to everyone in the | :56:33. | :56:36. | |
whole country. We have had the backing of everyone. I would just | :56:37. | :56:41. | |
like to say, this is a great opportunity for us to save thanks to | :56:42. | :56:45. | |
the fans, because they have been with us from the start of the | :56:46. | :56:48. | |
tournament. When you were a young boy dreaming of representing your | :56:49. | :56:52. | |
country, was this how you imagined it would be? Yes, this is what you | :56:53. | :56:57. | |
dream of as a kid. To do it in a major tournament and get to the | :56:58. | :57:00. | |
semifinals, I think it has surpassed all expectations that the lads would | :57:01. | :57:05. | |
have had. I think we are all very, very proud of what we have done, and | :57:06. | :57:10. | |
we are hoping that this will be the benchmark for the future and we can | :57:11. | :57:13. | |
look forward to more success. Now that you have had a taste of it, you | :57:14. | :57:18. | |
want some more? Yes, of course. The beauty of this squad is, we are | :57:19. | :57:22. | |
still relatively young and we have got the World Cup campaign to look | :57:23. | :57:25. | |
forward to just around the corner. Hopefully we can keep the moment | :57:26. | :57:29. | |
going which we have built up over the last couple of years. Go and | :57:30. | :57:33. | |
enjoy yourself, go and meet your fans, you deserve it. Joe Allen, the | :57:34. | :57:46. | |
metronome in the Wales midfield. Joe Allen keep things ticking over | :57:47. | :57:49. | |
pretty nicely in that midfield, doesn't he? Very much so. Talking | :57:50. | :57:54. | |
about the spirit of a club within an international side. Look at some of | :57:55. | :57:59. | |
the great international sides in history, in any sport,m Edwards | :58:00. | :58:03. | |
always said, felt like a club, not an international side. This is what | :58:04. | :58:09. | |
Wales has. -- Gareth Edwards. Joe Allen, unloved by Liverpool? Not | :58:10. | :58:14. | |
unloved, certainly not. Has not been able to break into the side as a | :58:15. | :58:21. | |
regular starter. He got a few starts towards the end of the season. | :58:22. | :58:30. | |
Simon, it is extraordinary, given what has happened in Welsh football? | :58:31. | :58:35. | |
Exactly. Credit to everyone for coming out and supporting us. We | :58:36. | :58:38. | |
could not have dreamed of something like this a couple of years ago. | :58:39. | :58:42. | |
Credit to the manager and the team and the country for putting it | :58:43. | :58:44. | |
together and achieving something like this. You watch this guy in | :58:45. | :58:50. | |
training - how good was that goal he scored? Which one are you on about? | :58:51. | :58:55. | |
Let's go for the second one! Brilliant, obviously he has done | :58:56. | :58:58. | |
fantastic in this tournament. As we all have. He has really taken his | :58:59. | :59:03. | |
moment, and that goal was very important for us. Hal Robson-Kanu, | :59:04. | :59:09. | |
you have heard him singing your song? Yes, the support is | :59:10. | :59:14. | |
unbelievable. There is a couple of hundred thousand people here, and | :59:15. | :59:19. | |
obviously, it will be a pact stadium as well. I take it you are all big | :59:20. | :59:30. | |
fans of the Manic Street Preachers? Yes, massive fans. You have both | :59:31. | :59:34. | |
gone into this tournament sort of in the shop window, so what happens | :59:35. | :59:39. | |
now? We have got to enjoy this moment and spend some time with our | :59:40. | :59:42. | |
families, as we have not seen them for a while, take it all in and then | :59:43. | :59:46. | |
I think we will go from there. I know it is not the time, but the | :59:47. | :59:52. | |
offers have been pouring in - any thoughts on what next? Not at all. | :59:53. | :59:57. | |
Once we have had a bit of a holiday, we will make a decision. I think you | :59:58. | :00:02. | |
have both sorted yourselves out, though, haven't you? No, it is what | :00:03. | :00:09. | |
it is. Like I said, we are just enjoying this moment. Have a great | :00:10. | :00:17. | |
time. That was Simon Church, with Hal Robson-Kanu. Hal Robson-Kanu | :00:18. | :00:23. | |
does not have a club at the moment. I think he will have one now! Can we | :00:24. | :00:30. | |
assess his performance during the campaign, and that amazing goal...? | :00:31. | :00:41. | |
With out much Jim, and all the more surprising I think because it came | :00:42. | :00:44. | |
from him, of course. Wonderful goal. So, the bus is slowly making its way | :00:45. | :01:02. | |
through the streets of Cardiff. Just getting your thoughts, Ron Jones, we | :01:03. | :01:06. | |
were speaking earlier about past disappointments. We went past the | :01:07. | :01:11. | |
Principality Stadium, the scene of heartache in 2003. I bet there are a | :01:12. | :01:17. | |
lot of former players pleased but pretty gutted they were not given | :01:18. | :01:19. | |
the opportunity to play on the biggest stage internationally? No | :01:20. | :01:25. | |
doubt about it. We had great players over the years who have never got | :01:26. | :01:28. | |
that opportunity. We spoke earlier about John Charles, Cliff Jones, the | :01:29. | :01:36. | |
1958 team. But they did get there opportunity. There were other | :01:37. | :01:39. | |
players in between those times - Ian Rush, wonderful, wonderful striker, | :01:40. | :01:44. | |
probably the best in Europe of his time. Neville Southall, certainly | :01:45. | :01:49. | |
for a period possibly the greatest goalkeeper in the world. Mark | :01:50. | :01:55. | |
Hughes, Dean Saunders, Terry Yorath, you know, there are endless lists of | :01:56. | :02:02. | |
Welsh players who were just not fortunate enough to play in the | :02:03. | :02:05. | |
right team at the right time. And you can add to that elements of bad | :02:06. | :02:09. | |
luck at times. Should have beaten Romania when we have that Doherty | :02:10. | :02:15. | |
which struck the bar. It was the only penalty Paul ever missed in his | :02:16. | :02:18. | |
life. Scored everyone before that and after that. It was the one | :02:19. | :02:22. | |
penalty which he missed and we did not qualify. You have been away from | :02:23. | :02:35. | |
the limelight, five weeks in Dinard, a very quiet place - did you ever | :02:36. | :02:38. | |
expect that you would be grabbing the nation's attention in this way? | :02:39. | :02:42. | |
No, we heard how much attention it was but not being able to see it, | :02:43. | :02:47. | |
this is something we could not even have imagined. It's amazing to see | :02:48. | :02:51. | |
so many people out here supporting us today. Is it a bit emotional as | :02:52. | :02:57. | |
well? Yes, it is. Something we did probably not see Welsh football | :02:58. | :03:01. | |
having for a while. But we are here now and we hope we can stay for a | :03:02. | :03:05. | |
few years to come. Obviously, there was disappointment after the game | :03:06. | :03:09. | |
against Portugal - but when you come back and see scenes like this, does | :03:10. | :03:12. | |
it change you up a bit? Yes, of course it does. The disappointment | :03:13. | :03:19. | |
of the Portugal game was there, but even the next morning we realised | :03:20. | :03:24. | |
that we had something special. To be disappointed at losing in the | :03:25. | :03:26. | |
semifinal shows how far we have come. Just seeing all the young | :03:27. | :03:33. | |
children around the place, are you hoping that you will inspire the | :03:34. | :03:39. | |
next generation? Yes, we hope so. Living in Wales, sometimes we have | :03:40. | :03:42. | |
not had the players coming through, but I think now we have inspired a | :03:43. | :03:47. | |
generation. You have got a party to enjoy - I will let you get on. That | :03:48. | :03:57. | |
was Ben Davies. And a word about Ben Davies - in that first game against | :03:58. | :04:01. | |
Slovakia, the opening couple of minutes, he did an amazing goal-line | :04:02. | :04:04. | |
clearance, and things could have been different had that gone into | :04:05. | :04:10. | |
the net? Very different indeed, Tomos. We could have been out of the | :04:11. | :04:15. | |
tournament before we even started. But somehow or other, his | :04:16. | :04:18. | |
anticipation was fantastic. Our goalkeeper was beaten. The ball | :04:19. | :04:24. | |
seemed to be going into the net, and then apparently out of nowhere, Ben | :04:25. | :04:28. | |
Davies disappeared and cleared it. We survived that and went on to win | :04:29. | :04:33. | |
the game. As you rightly say, it could have been very, very | :04:34. | :04:35. | |
different. Back to the bus, and Chris Coleman. They have been | :04:36. | :04:42. | |
absolutely outstanding, they have been a credit. We never imagined it | :04:43. | :04:45. | |
would be anything like this. Obviously, it makes us incredibly | :04:46. | :04:50. | |
proud. You said when we were in France, you didn't realise, you were | :04:51. | :04:54. | |
in a bubble - did you think it would be this sort of impact? No. We | :04:55. | :05:00. | |
expected a nice welcome, but I think even when we came out of the | :05:01. | :05:03. | |
airport, Cardiff airport, all away along the streets, it was amazing, | :05:04. | :05:15. | |
incredible. We are very proud as a nation, and when we see these people | :05:16. | :05:18. | |
and give them something to shout about, they want to shout. With your | :05:19. | :05:22. | |
new contract, this is now going to be something to build on? Yes. No | :05:23. | :05:27. | |
pressure, there! We have got to keep marching on. The one thing with this | :05:28. | :05:33. | |
bunch of people that I am lucky enough to work with, is, they want | :05:34. | :05:37. | |
to keep going forward. We can enjoy what we have achieved, but like the | :05:38. | :05:42. | |
tournament, it was great that we got there in the first place, but | :05:43. | :05:47. | |
quickly we forgot about that and it was all about concentrating on the | :05:48. | :05:50. | |
next challenge. These boys are very good at doing that. Will Welsh | :05:51. | :05:56. | |
football ever be the same again? Well, it is our job to make sure | :05:57. | :06:00. | |
that it won't. It is our, who is whoever comes after me, to build on | :06:01. | :06:04. | |
this. We have got a World Cup campaign, and it's all about that. | :06:05. | :06:09. | |
We have just got to go into that with the same hunger and desire. We | :06:10. | :06:14. | |
do that and we will be OK. 30,000 at the Cardiff City Stadium, thousands | :06:15. | :06:18. | |
around the streets, just to watch a bus? Yes, I don't know where all of | :06:19. | :06:24. | |
these people come from, to be honest. We are going into the | :06:25. | :06:30. | |
stadium now. And the Manic Street Preachers are waiting for us, my | :06:31. | :06:33. | |
favourite band. They have been great as well, we met. We are looking | :06:34. | :06:38. | |
forward to seeing them. Our families are waiting for us. 30,000 screaming | :06:39. | :06:43. | |
Welsh men and women and children - it does not get better than that. | :06:44. | :06:46. | |
And you have got something big to look forward to, another one on the | :06:47. | :06:51. | |
way, but this will leave with you for ever. Will you have some down | :06:52. | :06:57. | |
time before Moldova? I'm not sure, Moldova will come around quickly. We | :06:58. | :07:03. | |
have got August to prepare for the September one. But we have got a new | :07:04. | :07:09. | |
addition to the family as well. Yet there is a lot of work for me to do | :07:10. | :07:14. | |
in the summer. I am not really a lap top type of fella. But there will be | :07:15. | :07:21. | |
some nappies, yes. Enjoy every second of it. You have brought | :07:22. | :07:28. | |
delight to them. They have brought delight to us as well. I think our | :07:29. | :07:32. | |
team brought something to the tournament. The way they conducted | :07:33. | :07:38. | |
themselves, absolute credit. Thank you. Chris Coleman there, speaking | :07:39. | :07:43. | |
to Rob Phillips. All the best with changing those nappies! | :07:44. | :08:02. | |
Joining me now is Iwan Griffiths, the sports reporter for BBC Wales. | :08:03. | :08:10. | |
What about the welcome the Wales players saved? Yes, the | :08:11. | :08:14. | |
anticipation, the crowd... Ashley Williams on the bus. | :08:15. | :08:30. | |
Could you ever have thought you would create such an impression on | :08:31. | :08:37. | |
the bus? No, I don't think so. We obviously heard thing, saw a few | :08:38. | :08:41. | |
videos but did not realise that everyone was so into it. It is just | :08:42. | :08:47. | |
nice now to say thank you. What is your overriding feeling now? | :08:48. | :08:52. | |
Your emotion? It emotional. One of pride, really. What the lads, what | :08:53. | :08:56. | |
the staff have a achieved. To celebrate it with the fans like | :08:57. | :09:01. | |
this, it makes me feel proud. And you are going to split up soon? | :09:02. | :09:06. | |
I know, it will be weird. Like a divorce. But not too long. That's | :09:07. | :09:12. | |
the good thing. Moldova is 60 days away? That's the boosy of it. It has | :09:13. | :09:19. | |
been long time. Enjoyed it all. It was like a long school trip. We will | :09:20. | :09:24. | |
be happy to see each other in a few weeks' time. Then again for the | :09:25. | :09:28. | |
World Cup. How important is it to build on what you are seen here | :09:29. | :09:35. | |
today? Massively important. We need to use the experience of this | :09:36. | :09:38. | |
tournament and try to take it to the next campaign. | :09:39. | :09:43. | |
Imagine if you had won it? We just said that | :09:44. | :09:47. | |
Something for Russia? Hopefully another one of these. | :09:48. | :09:51. | |
With the trophy would be nice. On a personal note, you have to have | :09:52. | :09:56. | |
a break ready for a big season ahead again? Yeah, yeah, a little break. | :09:57. | :10:04. | |
The gaffer has been texting me to tell us the date when we are back | :10:05. | :10:09. | |
in. So some down time and recharge the batteries and then go again. | :10:10. | :10:13. | |
And finally, how to sum up what happened in the last six, seven, | :10:14. | :10:19. | |
eight weeks? It's hard to put it into words. It has been a whirlwind. | :10:20. | :10:24. | |
Something that we are immensely proud of. Enjoyed every minute of | :10:25. | :10:28. | |
it. Something that we will remember for all of our lives. | :10:29. | :10:32. | |
All the best. Thank you. | :10:33. | :10:37. | |
Ashley Williams, the captain of Wales, comparing this to a school | :10:38. | :10:42. | |
trip! The best school trip ever. If you ask me. How is this, Gareth? | :10:43. | :10:49. | |
Very special. Seeing what it means to the whole | :10:50. | :10:53. | |
country. Obviously it is nice to say a little thank you for supporting | :10:54. | :10:56. | |
us, being there with us for the journey. Amazing scenes. One we will | :10:57. | :11:02. | |
never forget. When you were growing up as a | :11:03. | :11:06. | |
youngster, did you ever think Welsh football would do this? Maybe not. | :11:07. | :11:10. | |
It was obviously the dream, the dream of many but yeah, we have | :11:11. | :11:14. | |
definitely fulfilled our potential. I still believe we have more to give | :11:15. | :11:17. | |
as well. Is that right? I mean that is the | :11:18. | :11:20. | |
important thing now? Yeah, definitely. We are a young team, | :11:21. | :11:25. | |
reasonable. We have our primes to come. Hopefully keep the confidence | :11:26. | :11:31. | |
up, keep going as a team, there is no reason not to achieve more. | :11:32. | :11:37. | |
To go out at the semi-final was it a bit of a disappointment? Definitely. | :11:38. | :11:42. | |
Especially after the games, so close to the final, so close to the | :11:43. | :11:45. | |
trophy. It is obviously disappointing. But looking back on | :11:46. | :11:50. | |
it, reflecting on the defeat, you see what you achieved as a country, | :11:51. | :11:53. | |
as a nation. Yes, you see what it means to the | :11:54. | :11:57. | |
fans. Eve within everything you have done | :11:58. | :12:01. | |
in the game, these sorts of events, this event will forever live in the | :12:02. | :12:07. | |
memory? Yeah, definitely. . Especially to be the Welsh National | :12:08. | :12:11. | |
team, in Wales, it is an incredible feeling. No prouder honour. | :12:12. | :12:16. | |
Putting on the red T-shirt for Wales, to share it with the fans | :12:17. | :12:19. | |
today it is incredible. You have brought a lot of pleasure | :12:20. | :12:22. | |
to a lot of people. I try to do my best. The same as all | :12:23. | :12:27. | |
of us. We work together as a team. We do whatever we can to help each | :12:28. | :12:31. | |
other. Yeah, that is including the fans. | :12:32. | :12:35. | |
Now, tell me, what is the secret, and what does that guy next to you, | :12:36. | :12:41. | |
Ashley Williams, say to you before each game? He just gives that great | :12:42. | :12:50. | |
motivation, that speech we need to calm the nerves, to calm the nerves, | :12:51. | :12:54. | |
an incredible leader. Incredible to have him on our team. Gareth Bale, | :12:55. | :13:00. | |
no prouder honour than wearing the Welsh T-shirt. No doubting his | :13:01. | :13:06. | |
passion. But we have been interrupted twice, third time lucky. | :13:07. | :13:11. | |
Or maybe not... A quick word with Aaron Ramsey. | :13:12. | :13:15. | |
Long time mates but this is special, isn't it? Of course, we have had | :13:16. | :13:22. | |
down days. But this team has been through a lot. | :13:23. | :13:26. | |
We have shown what we are capable of doing. We are proud to be Welsh. You | :13:27. | :13:30. | |
can see the support, it is phenomenal. | :13:31. | :13:34. | |
Chris, you you are good with words, sum it up for me? It has been hard. | :13:35. | :13:39. | |
It will take a while to settle in. We have been in a bubble for the | :13:40. | :13:47. | |
last six weeks or so. I think over today, tonight, over the next week | :13:48. | :13:51. | |
or so, it will soon settle in. But it is hard to. | :13:52. | :13:56. | |
We have worked so hard for this. Firstly to qualify for the | :13:57. | :13:59. | |
tournament. Then to go there and make the mark that we did. | :14:00. | :14:05. | |
It is down to so many people it is nice to say thank you. But it means | :14:06. | :14:11. | |
the world to does. I'm amazed speaking to a few of you, | :14:12. | :14:15. | |
you are taken aback at the impact it has made? Yeah, as we have been | :14:16. | :14:20. | |
away, we have not seen the impact back here, we have not experienced | :14:21. | :14:26. | |
it back here. We have heard from families, the atmosphere, and | :14:27. | :14:29. | |
everybody has been pen foamal but to experience it like this. It is | :14:30. | :14:33. | |
pretty special. Are you over missing the semi-final? | :14:34. | :14:38. | |
Obviously I'm really gutted but it weren't meant to be. But we had a | :14:39. | :14:42. | |
fantastic tournament. We can be proud of what we achieved. | :14:43. | :14:46. | |
Tell me about the World Cup campaign now? Before we know it we will be | :14:47. | :14:51. | |
meeting back up. There will be another campaign to get through. But | :14:52. | :14:56. | |
I don't think there is any way we will let this go and not use it and | :14:57. | :15:02. | |
build on it. These are now the foundations for what we want to do | :15:03. | :15:06. | |
over the next number of years. We won't be able to not use this | :15:07. | :15:12. | |
experience and this momentum that we will now have. | :15:13. | :15:16. | |
It is important to start well. Soon this will be in the distant | :15:17. | :15:21. | |
past so it is important to enjoy it whilst we're in it. | :15:22. | :15:24. | |
The World Cup campaign? Yeah, very much looking forward to it now. We | :15:25. | :15:28. | |
have had a great campaign. We have to build on this. To be successful. | :15:29. | :15:33. | |
To keep repeating that now. So it will be important to get off to a | :15:34. | :15:37. | |
good start. But we are going to enjoy moments like this today. They | :15:38. | :15:41. | |
don't come along often in your career. We are taking this in but | :15:42. | :15:45. | |
looking forward to the World Cup campaign. | :15:46. | :15:51. | |
That hiccup worked out well, didn't it? I -- That haircut worked out | :15:52. | :16:02. | |
well? Yes, well, I'm sorry to some of the parents, I have heard it has | :16:03. | :16:11. | |
meant a few changes. That sham pew. It cost thousands! | :16:12. | :16:20. | |
And the last one, Joe Ledley, otherwise engaged? Yeah, Joe Ledley, | :16:21. | :16:26. | |
he can't be here. He is a massive fan. We've been texting him. It is a | :16:27. | :16:31. | |
shame we can't get to see his dancing skills. | :16:32. | :16:40. | |
Who is stepping in ah? I think that the gaffer is doing a little dance | :16:41. | :16:43. | |
tonight. Terrific guys, thanks. | :16:44. | :16:49. | |
Aaron Ramsey and Chris Gunter. Aaron Ramsey oblivious to the support back | :16:50. | :16:54. | |
home until today. I don't know about you but I suspect there will be a | :16:55. | :17:01. | |
shampoo advert around the corner for Aaron Ramsey! Here are the scenes | :17:02. | :17:05. | |
now. The support is still there on the streets. | :17:06. | :17:15. | |
With the words "Diolch" and "together we are stronger." | :17:16. | :17:25. | |
Well, what a remarkable afternoon for the Wales players and the fans. | :17:26. | :17:33. | |
Let's head to Caroline Evans. Hi, Caroline. | :17:34. | :17:39. | |
Well, they said it was a party to which all were invited. I think that | :17:40. | :17:46. | |
everyone has come! We have been watching as the fans have been | :17:47. | :17:51. | |
pouring down the street. Walking ahead of the bus, heading to the | :17:52. | :17:55. | |
stadium. Not willing to be left behind. Wanting to stay with the | :17:56. | :17:59. | |
moment. We think that they are parting. We can just see the bus in | :18:00. | :18:04. | |
the distance. It's a long road this. This is why so many have gathered, | :18:05. | :18:08. | |
to give themselves the best chance of being able to grab that moment. | :18:09. | :18:12. | |
That selfie, or just absorb the golden moment. Have a look now. I | :18:13. | :18:17. | |
think you may be able to see in the distance... The top of the bus | :18:18. | :18:25. | |
coming down. And the crowd, the crowd they can see it. As you can | :18:26. | :18:32. | |
hear, they are coming out with the chants. Here it comes. There is an | :18:33. | :18:38. | |
outrider ahead of it. A white Land Rover. The crowds being moved to the | :18:39. | :18:42. | |
side of the road to make room for the bus. Let's have a word with | :18:43. | :18:47. | |
someone here. To see what you are waiting for, who are you hoping to | :18:48. | :18:52. | |
see? I'm hoping to see Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Ashley Williams. | :18:53. | :18:56. | |
OK. Well a special moment for you. I know that you are a football fan? | :18:57. | :19:03. | |
The first game of watching Wales was in 1986. Then Wales v Brazil. And | :19:04. | :19:12. | |
Kelly made had is debut. So I go back a long, long way. | :19:13. | :19:16. | |
This must be so special? Very special. So many ups and downs, and | :19:17. | :19:23. | |
disappointments in the as and the '90s. Now, this is incredible. A | :19:24. | :19:27. | |
wonderful achievement. Who are you hoping to see on the | :19:28. | :19:32. | |
bus? Everyone! They have all been incredible. We have said it is a | :19:33. | :19:36. | |
team and they have about. There are some who stick out a little bit but | :19:37. | :19:41. | |
nearly the team effort has been superb. | :19:42. | :19:45. | |
That is it, really. It has been a huge team effort. And Wales has | :19:46. | :19:49. | |
turned out for this party. It is creeping closer. The crowd behind me | :19:50. | :19:54. | |
breaking into song. They are so excited. Go on, then, lads. Give us | :19:55. | :19:58. | |
a song. # Mae hen wlad fy nhadau | :19:59. | :20:15. | |
yn annwyl i mi # Gwlad beirdd a chantorion, | :20:16. | :20:18. | |
enwogion o fri # Ei gwrol ryfelwyr, | :20:19. | :20:20. | |
gwladgarwyr tra mad Here, there are the people behind | :20:21. | :20:36. | |
us. All waiting. Creeping forward as far as the police will allow them. | :20:37. | :20:40. | |
Everybody is dying to catch that glimpse of the bus. They seemed to | :20:41. | :20:44. | |
have paused a minute. Let's go in the other direction to take a look. | :20:45. | :20:51. | |
I think that they must be pausing for more selfies. Perhaps we will | :20:52. | :20:52. | |
come back to you as it gets closer. What a beautiful rendition. The sun | :20:53. | :21:14. | |
is now out to welcome the Wales team. What a welcome at the airport | :21:15. | :21:26. | |
earlier. It was wonderful. The FAW, they have choreographed every single | :21:27. | :21:31. | |
moment of today, starting from the airport and the rifle. Just | :21:32. | :21:37. | |
interrupt you again, we can go back to the bus. The preparation and the | :21:38. | :21:48. | |
hard work, the spirit has meant that they had a number leave double | :21:49. | :21:53. | |
campaign. They captured the hearts of many a nation and people | :21:54. | :21:58. | |
worldwide. We are really proud of what they have achieved. This is | :21:59. | :22:03. | |
something special and everybody is enjoying the moment. Did you ever | :22:04. | :22:08. | |
think you would see this day? Not really. Not really. But we believed | :22:09. | :22:14. | |
in the players and believed they could do well. But they have | :22:15. | :22:18. | |
surpassed any expectations that most people had for this group, but we | :22:19. | :22:23. | |
knew what they were capable of and they are capable of more. Hopefully | :22:24. | :22:28. | |
it's the first of many. The support we've had in France and back home | :22:29. | :22:33. | |
has been amazing. We were in France in a bubble and we were not really | :22:34. | :22:36. | |
aware of what was happening. But this brings it home. This bus driver | :22:37. | :22:43. | |
is really enjoying the brake! We will have to be careful, but it will | :22:44. | :22:48. | |
not spoil the enjoyment. We look forward to getting to the stadium. | :22:49. | :22:54. | |
Tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands here today. What about all | :22:55. | :22:58. | |
the others around Wales who have been supporting you. It's been | :22:59. | :23:03. | |
remarkable, the support here, and across the nation, all areas of | :23:04. | :23:08. | |
Wales and the support in France has been fantastic and something we will | :23:09. | :23:12. | |
always treasure. We went on a journey together. The staff have | :23:13. | :23:19. | |
worked so hard behind the scenes, the players, and then the supporters | :23:20. | :23:23. | |
who got to friends, and also those who didn't make it have supported | :23:24. | :23:27. | |
wholeheartedly back in Wales. We have appreciated that | :23:28. | :23:33. | |
wholeheartedly. Hopefully it means the next generation of young | :23:34. | :23:36. | |
children will be ready to do this and repeat this for Wales for many | :23:37. | :23:41. | |
years. Enjoy the party. Keep an eye on Wayne Hennessey, he might be | :23:42. | :23:45. | |
falling off, this driver really likes the brakes! | :23:46. | :23:56. | |
Speaking there to Chris Coleman's assistant, Mr Roberts, he doesn't | :23:57. | :24:02. | |
get much limelight, Chris Coleman gets most of it, but he was an | :24:03. | :24:07. | |
important part of the backroom team. He was brought in during the reign | :24:08. | :24:11. | |
of Gary Speed. Chris Coleman knew what he was capable of and was keen | :24:12. | :24:21. | |
to keep hold of Roberts, not only the first team with this bunch of | :24:22. | :24:26. | |
stars, but he also does the hard work behind the scenes with the | :24:27. | :24:30. | |
children, bringing them through as well, which will be crucial as we | :24:31. | :24:36. | |
move on and develop in the future and working towards 2018. He also | :24:37. | :24:44. | |
does wonderful work with coaches down at the centre of excellent in | :24:45. | :24:50. | |
Newport. They are bringing new cultures through and also working | :24:51. | :24:59. | |
with a host of stars. Wales is now seen as a centre of excellence when | :25:00. | :25:02. | |
it comes to getting these managers through. We have seen Aaron Ramsey | :25:03. | :25:06. | |
and Chris Gunter they're talking about it. We can chat with Wayne | :25:07. | :25:15. | |
Hennessey, the goalkeeper. He's away with his wedding, that's much more | :25:16. | :25:19. | |
important. We can't hear from him, but how good is that? It's | :25:20. | :25:25. | |
fantastic. I promised I would Face time him for the supporters. There | :25:26. | :25:38. | |
is Joe Ledley! What the little one called, do you know? It's Layla. You | :25:39. | :25:51. | |
couldn't leave him out of this party. He is sadly missed at the | :25:52. | :25:56. | |
moment by the boys and the supporters. The best we can do is | :25:57. | :26:06. | |
Facetime him and share this. We can only thank all the supporters for | :26:07. | :26:10. | |
being here and supporting us all the way. We are all looking forward for | :26:11. | :26:17. | |
a few weeks' time, joining up, being with the squad and staff. We have | :26:18. | :26:22. | |
some fantastic times to come and hopefully we are on the way up. Have | :26:23. | :26:25. | |
a fantastic night. Wayne Hennessey there. And Joe | :26:26. | :26:38. | |
Ledley, but I suspect Layla stole the show. In Ibiza, ready for an | :26:39. | :26:49. | |
important day, his wedding. People have sacrificed so much, given their | :26:50. | :26:55. | |
all for this Wales campaign. We saw a few months ago from the eye in the | :26:56. | :27:03. | |
sky in the helicopter, the coaches are not too far from the Cardiff | :27:04. | :27:06. | |
City Stadium. The crowds are building. We can head back to the | :27:07. | :27:22. | |
bus. In fact... Let's talk to Mr Jones. Remarkable scenes behind you, | :27:23. | :27:28. | |
the crowds gathering already. I just whispered to Carolyn that there are | :27:29. | :27:32. | |
more people here now than actually used a watch them play. That's how | :27:33. | :27:37. | |
far they have come in the last few years. What we really have to do, as | :27:38. | :27:44. | |
some of the players and officials have said, this has to be a starting | :27:45. | :27:50. | |
point. It's not the end. We have done so well. It's been great, could | :27:51. | :27:54. | |
have possibly done with one more match may be! But this has to be the | :27:55. | :28:00. | |
starting point for World Cup qualification, for another European | :28:01. | :28:03. | |
Championships, so it becomes almost automatic. And also a starting point | :28:04. | :28:09. | |
for the fans. They are here today and need to be here on the 5th of | :28:10. | :28:13. | |
September when Moldova play. It would be great if | :28:14. | :28:24. | |
they travelled to Austria as well. But the home games at this stadium, | :28:25. | :28:29. | |
and they are keen to stay at the Cardiff City Stadium, Chris Coleman | :28:30. | :28:31. | |
said it at the press conference this morning in Dinard, it's their home | :28:32. | :28:34. | |
and they need to pack it out. You talk about the future of football | :28:35. | :28:38. | |
but little ones here will have only seen the success and achievement. | :28:39. | :28:42. | |
Imagine how that will inspire them. When they go to kick a ball in the | :28:43. | :28:47. | |
park or go to school on Monday. They will want to be Bale and Ramsey. | :28:48. | :28:52. | |
That's how we all learned to play, that's what captured our | :28:53. | :28:56. | |
imagination. Development from a young age is important. We saw Chris | :28:57. | :29:02. | |
Gunter and Aaron Ramsey and they played together at Cardiff, Joe | :29:03. | :29:06. | |
Ledley as well. They are friends and that comes over on the pitch, they | :29:07. | :29:10. | |
genuinely enjoy each other's company. If things go wrong it's | :29:11. | :29:16. | |
easier to get together. It's happening again, just interrupt you | :29:17. | :29:24. | |
and go to Caroline Evans. What excitement down here you can see I | :29:25. | :29:29. | |
am surrounded by the fans as they are flooding past. The noise as the | :29:30. | :29:35. | |
bus went past was incredible. The chanting and singing, just such an | :29:36. | :29:41. | |
atmosphere. You can see they don't want it to end. They are all making | :29:42. | :29:52. | |
their way to the stadium. Many of them have walked from town, they | :29:53. | :29:59. | |
don't want this to be over. Above us, the helicopter is flying. The | :30:00. | :30:03. | |
bus is now just leaving our vision and going into the underpass. The | :30:04. | :30:12. | |
players are on top of the bus, the teams who have worked with them, and | :30:13. | :30:18. | |
the crowds are just following them. The end of the journey, but not, | :30:19. | :30:24. | |
they say, the end. Because this will go on. They said it was a party to | :30:25. | :30:29. | |
which everyone was invited and clearly we have all turned out to | :30:30. | :30:34. | |
welcome them home. And the fun goes on down at the stadium now, just | :30:35. | :30:40. | |
down the road. Even if they haven't got tickets, everybody heading that | :30:41. | :30:46. | |
way. Not long to go now. In a few minutes we will see the bus entering | :30:47. | :30:54. | |
the Cardiff City Stadium. Some amazing scenes. Who would have | :30:55. | :30:59. | |
guessed when you left for Dinard and spent five weeks at their training | :31:00. | :31:03. | |
base that they would leave as heroes and come so close to winning the | :31:04. | :31:08. | |
whole thing. Apparently Gareth Bale new, didn't he? He didn't put | :31:09. | :31:11. | |
anything until After the Final Whistle. The majority thought that | :31:12. | :31:21. | |
with that group they could get to a quarterfinal. That in itself would | :31:22. | :31:25. | |
have been an achievement. Similar scenes to these would have been | :31:26. | :31:29. | |
seen. Time to speak to James Collins. 49 caps now. I thought it | :31:30. | :31:43. | |
was 50 to be honest. But we have big games ahead so hopefully I can hit | :31:44. | :31:53. | |
50. You want 50, no thought in your mind of not retiring, but you know | :31:54. | :31:58. | |
what I mean. I have never thought of retiring. I want to get to 50 caps, | :31:59. | :32:07. | |
it would be a huge achievement. It's been an unbelievable journey. | :32:08. | :32:16. | |
James Collins, he certainly enjoyed himself after the semifinal, | :32:17. | :32:22. | |
pictured walking out of the team hotel in Lyon with a pint glass the | :32:23. | :32:29. | |
morning after the night before. The stewards are ready. Fans are waiting | :32:30. | :32:34. | |
patiently here. Some arrived a few hours ago to get a decent vantage | :32:35. | :32:38. | |
point of the players. Throughout the day we have seen cars with flags | :32:39. | :32:45. | |
around the city centre. We can head back to the bus and try again with | :32:46. | :32:51. | |
James Collins. It's a special team and a special squad, to be part of | :32:52. | :32:57. | |
it is to be part of something special. We have had a lot of dark | :32:58. | :33:02. | |
days with Wales. Hardly any fans, so this is great to enjoy this. Your | :33:03. | :33:07. | |
club manager Slaven Bilic was full of praise when you qualified. I have | :33:08. | :33:12. | |
spoke to the boss, he has managed internationals so he knows what it | :33:13. | :33:16. | |
means to us. He's delighted for us. To have one of his players do this | :33:17. | :33:21. | |
with the national team is great. He has been spot on. See you next | :33:22. | :33:24. | |
season in a Wales shirt. 100%. Some real noise here, the helicopter | :33:25. | :33:37. | |
in the sky giving some great pictures. We now know that the bus | :33:38. | :33:46. | |
is not too far. We can head back to the bus. Sam Vokes. We were in a bit | :33:47. | :33:52. | |
of a bubble but coming back, you see what it means to the people here. | :33:53. | :33:58. | |
Did you have any inkling what was happening back in Wales? You get | :33:59. | :34:01. | |
messages and see photos, but until you get here and see the streets | :34:02. | :34:05. | |
lined with people, it's amazing. Great to see the nation come | :34:06. | :34:10. | |
together. So many children as well. Do you think you have inspired these | :34:11. | :34:16. | |
kids, girls and boys, to start playing football with their friends? | :34:17. | :34:20. | |
Of course. That's a massive thing. The next generation coming through. | :34:21. | :34:25. | |
We have inspired these kids and they could go on to bigger things. That | :34:26. | :34:30. | |
stadium on the 5th of September when you face Moldova, it will be rammed | :34:31. | :34:34. | |
once again. Of course. We have seen in past campaigns when we haven't | :34:35. | :34:40. | |
had fans in the ground, but seeing this today, I'm sure they will be | :34:41. | :34:46. | |
there to watch us. It's not just this, 33,000 fans are waiting for | :34:47. | :34:51. | |
you in your home, Cardiff City Stadium. It's amazing. The lads | :34:52. | :34:56. | |
can't wait to get in there and see what it's like. It's a brilliant | :34:57. | :35:00. | |
day. We have seen some interesting videos in the last few weeks. The | :35:01. | :35:05. | |
most interesting recently is a half naked Haka from the boys. Any | :35:06. | :35:09. | |
similar antics this evening? It could be anything, you never know. | :35:10. | :35:14. | |
It's been a fantastic trip and a great squad to be part of. Enjoy in | :35:15. | :35:19. | |
this, something to savour for the rest of your life? Of course, | :35:20. | :35:27. | |
special memories and moments. Is it starting to sink in what you have | :35:28. | :35:32. | |
really achieved? It is now. When you are out there you are involved in | :35:33. | :35:37. | |
the games. It's very con fined, but to come back and start to reflect | :35:38. | :35:41. | |
and it has been a great trip. We have had a great trip with you as | :35:42. | :35:45. | |
well. Our behalf of everyone, Diolch. | :35:46. | :35:50. | |
# This is a BBC Wales special, bringing you coverage of homecoming | :35:51. | :35:57. | |
of the Wales football team after the successes of euro 2016. | :35:58. | :36:04. | |
Jonathan Ford, the chief executive of the FAW is talking to Rob | :36:05. | :36:08. | |
Phillips. The fans have demonstrated it was | :36:09. | :36:12. | |
all worth it. Unbelievable scenes in Cardiff. Tens of thousands of people | :36:13. | :36:17. | |
on the street. A great party it will be. What a | :36:18. | :36:21. | |
fantastic celebration of our success at the European Championships. | :36:22. | :36:25. | |
How much pressure is there on you now to build on this? | :36:26. | :36:29. | |
PROBLEM WITH SOUND. | :36:30. | :36:39. | |
Well, we have lost Jonathan Ford there. Probably the cameras hit some | :36:40. | :36:45. | |
branches. He did well to duck there! He will have a real onon his hands. | :36:46. | :36:52. | |
Things have to be can tallised on this? Very much so. And kids need | :36:53. | :37:00. | |
heroes. Maybe they have too many celebrity heroes but sporting heros | :37:01. | :37:05. | |
are the best. If you switch on to the benefits of sport, the fitness, | :37:06. | :37:10. | |
well being and the ethical values, the importance of working in a team. | :37:11. | :37:17. | |
The values that we learn from that. This is what teamwork is about. Get | :37:18. | :37:24. | |
out there kids, get into the park, kick aball around, you are our | :37:25. | :37:28. | |
future. Can sport bring human nature | :37:29. | :37:32. | |
together? Absolutely. We have seen how diverse and divided we are. | :37:33. | :37:36. | |
Jonathan Ford is back on the bus. . The passion with the stadium and | :37:37. | :37:43. | |
with other events, we will see how it goes. | :37:44. | :37:46. | |
Do you have to play a game there before the Champions League final? | :37:47. | :37:52. | |
We would like to play a game there and set the stadium up in a | :37:53. | :37:55. | |
footballing environment. We will definitely do one match there. But | :37:56. | :37:59. | |
it does not have to be a World Cup qualifier? No, it doesn't. It could | :38:00. | :38:03. | |
be a friendly. Sum up your emotions sitting here on | :38:04. | :38:07. | |
top of the bus in the lovely sunshine in the centre of Cardiff | :38:08. | :38:12. | |
with all of these people around you? It made the hard work worthwhile. I | :38:13. | :38:17. | |
will relax. Heading back to Paris to see the final. All of the games have | :38:18. | :38:24. | |
been unbelievable. What a run. What a fantastic tournament, a fantastic | :38:25. | :38:28. | |
year. Next year, world Champions League final! All the best. | :38:29. | :38:32. | |
Thank you. There we go. The Cardiff City | :38:33. | :38:36. | |
Stadium is bathed in summer sunshine. | :38:37. | :38:41. | |
Any moment now that bus will make its journey there. | :38:42. | :38:45. | |
You can see the fans there. They are waiting to greet their | :38:46. | :38:50. | |
heroes. Carolyn, we were talking about the job that Jonathan Ford has | :38:51. | :38:53. | |
on his hands to capitalise on the success. This is not a one-off? | :38:54. | :38:58. | |
There has to be a legacy. In many way it is is the attitude that the | :38:59. | :39:04. | |
team have shown that we can take something from, whatever era in | :39:05. | :39:08. | |
life, politic ticks, meetafter, education. You look at the team, you | :39:09. | :39:13. | |
see the belief, the organisation, the wreck nation of what the | :39:14. | :39:17. | |
identity and the culture of theirs means to them. You were talking | :39:18. | :39:24. | |
about the attitudes as well. Being in Dinard... Sorry, let's go | :39:25. | :39:28. | |
back to the bus. We have been in a bubble for a few | :39:29. | :39:32. | |
weeks. It is nice to celebrate properly with the fans. They have | :39:33. | :39:36. | |
been fantastic all the way through. A special moment for us. | :39:37. | :39:42. | |
We all mention the bubble in Dinard but social media kept you in touch. | :39:43. | :39:47. | |
Did you have any idea you would get this reception? Thousands upon | :39:48. | :39:51. | |
thousands of people lining the streets? No, I don't think any of us | :39:52. | :39:56. | |
did, to be honest. God knows what would have happened if we had won | :39:57. | :40:03. | |
it. The fannens have been amazing. I can't thank them enough for their | :40:04. | :40:07. | |
support. When we were out in France it really helped. Being together as | :40:08. | :40:11. | |
a team, as a nation, it has been extra special. To be home and to | :40:12. | :40:15. | |
celebrate it is amazing. It is odd when five years ago less | :40:16. | :40:20. | |
than 10,000 people were coming to watch Wales. I think if you could | :40:21. | :40:29. | |
find tickets, it may be a problem now? Yeah, the manager, the back | :40:30. | :40:35. | |
room guys, they have to take full credit for what they have done. It's | :40:36. | :40:43. | |
a perfect blend. A great team. We have deserved, let's hope we can | :40:44. | :40:46. | |
enjoy it. Talk us through that, it is not just | :40:47. | :40:52. | |
the men on the pitch? No. The gaffer has done an amazing job to carry us | :40:53. | :40:57. | |
through. It is a special group. Hopefully we can stay together for a | :40:58. | :41:01. | |
few more groups. I'm glad you are being nice about | :41:02. | :41:06. | |
Chris Coleman, he is standing behind you! It is a momentous night and | :41:07. | :41:11. | |
lots of celebrating to be done. Yes. It's been a long time since | :41:12. | :41:17. | |
identify been home. We have looked forward to the moment. We have | :41:18. | :41:21. | |
worked hard to get to the finals of a major championship. We have done | :41:22. | :41:24. | |
that. We were disappointed to lose in the | :41:25. | :41:30. | |
end but yeah... What can I say. One word to describe this? Oh... | :41:31. | :41:37. | |
Fantastic! Amazing. Enjoy the celebrations, you all | :41:38. | :41:42. | |
deserve it. Johnny Williams. We saw the red | :41:43. | :41:49. | |
carpet out on the pitch. Later on tonight a treat for you. | :41:50. | :41:54. | |
We have seen the fans, the players and the presenters, Gethin Jones, | :41:55. | :41:58. | |
what can we expect? It is a celebration going on behind us. | :41:59. | :42:03. | |
Phenomenon alto see the red wail, as the players call it. | :42:04. | :42:09. | |
It has probably been the slowest journey to the Cardiff City Stadium | :42:10. | :42:14. | |
but they are milking the moments and so they should be. Tonight a | :42:15. | :42:23. | |
concert, the Manic Street Preachers are performing. So one big party | :42:24. | :42:28. | |
tonight, for sure. Ant great scenes, Gethin. The bus is | :42:29. | :42:33. | |
slowly approaching the stadium. You have been a football fan for many | :42:34. | :42:36. | |
years, this is special? It is incredible. What the boys have done | :42:37. | :42:41. | |
is sensational. They have been brilliant on and off the pitch. I | :42:42. | :42:44. | |
was lucky enough to be out in France. The way that they were, the | :42:45. | :42:49. | |
relationship with the fans, it has been brilliant for the Welsh | :42:50. | :42:53. | |
language, incredible for the younger generation of footballers and | :42:54. | :42:56. | |
sportsmen who want to play for their country. | :42:57. | :43:05. | |
We have seen the words, "Diolch" and "together we are stronger" it is | :43:06. | :43:10. | |
more than just a buzzword it is a phrase? They have all bought into | :43:11. | :43:15. | |
that. And Gareth Bale, he knows that. They | :43:16. | :43:23. | |
have packed a punch. We can be incredibly proud of them. | :43:24. | :43:29. | |
To see them out there, do this. And I tell you, we genuinely looked | :43:30. | :43:34. | |
disappointed after losing in the semi-final. That shows how far we | :43:35. | :43:40. | |
have come. And the police outriders are there? | :43:41. | :43:44. | |
Am I late? Get on with it. Nice to see you. | :43:45. | :43:50. | |
So, the police outriders have stopped. The coaches are now just | :43:51. | :43:55. | |
metres away from the Cardiff City Stadium. | :43:56. | :44:04. | |
We hear the fans chanting "Wales, Wales, don't take me home" on the | :44:05. | :44:16. | |
pitch a giant red stripe and the Menorah of the show, the Wales | :44:17. | :44:20. | |
football tale. One of the things that strikes me | :44:21. | :44:25. | |
now, I wonder what the players think of this. They might have had an idea | :44:26. | :44:30. | |
of what the support is like and their reaction was like here at home | :44:31. | :44:34. | |
but this really now, it has brought it home to them with a vengeance | :44:35. | :44:40. | |
hasn't it? Yes, and the crowds responding as they approach. I have | :44:41. | :44:44. | |
a tear in my eye. It is really emotional to finally see them within | :44:45. | :44:48. | |
touching distance and look at the reaction that they are getting. This | :44:49. | :44:50. | |
is wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. There are the police on horseback | :44:51. | :45:13. | |
leading the way, clearing the route. The players are responding to the | :45:14. | :45:25. | |
applause from the crowds. Many starved of success for years | :45:26. | :45:31. | |
and years. Decades of despair. Years of near-misses but finally, | :45:32. | :45:35. | |
the summer of 2016 will be remembered as the football | :45:36. | :45:38. | |
fairytale. Ewan, you have been following the | :45:39. | :45:42. | |
team for many weeks now. This means a lot? This comes down to the way | :45:43. | :45:49. | |
that the FAW have been in touch with crowds at home as well. | :45:50. | :45:54. | |
How they have punt the Reiches of Gareth Bale in the press conferences | :45:55. | :45:57. | |
on the weekly basis and we have heard from the stars. That is the | :45:58. | :46:03. | |
only way that the fans then can get to know the players. The way that | :46:04. | :46:09. | |
they conduct themselves. We have been talking about role models, Neil | :46:10. | :46:15. | |
Taylor and Chris Gunter, how they came out in one press conference, | :46:16. | :46:20. | |
they are so eloquent. That in itself is something that people have seen | :46:21. | :46:25. | |
over the last few weeks. The supporters are really getting in | :46:26. | :46:29. | |
touch to respond to that, not just as footballers but to these menace | :46:30. | :46:31. | |
individuals. -- But to these men as individuals. | :46:32. | :46:50. | |
And there Aaron Ramsey is waving at the crowds. The coach is at a stand | :46:51. | :46:55. | |
still at the moment. They are to head into the stadium. | :46:56. | :46:59. | |
And the stadium is absolutely packed. Everybody with cameras | :47:00. | :47:04. | |
phones. There will be a moment for the players to meet up with their | :47:05. | :47:07. | |
families inside before tonight's concert. A special party that starts | :47:08. | :47:13. | |
at 6.30pm live here on BBC One Wales. | :47:14. | :47:22. | |
The Manic Street Preachers. One of the acts, and of course they | :47:23. | :47:27. | |
sang the official anthem to the campaign. | :47:28. | :47:31. | |
They did indeed. The players are starting to get off the bus. One by | :47:32. | :47:36. | |
one, as they come out, etch 50 will get his own individual cheer. | :47:37. | :47:41. | |
Doesn't that make your proud. We will pause for the Icelandic | :47:42. | :47:43. | |
clap. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE. | :47:44. | :48:09. | |
Remarkable. The players and the fans, as one. | :48:10. | :48:16. | |
United. Replicating the Icelandic | :48:17. | :48:19. | |
celebration. We have seen the scenes after the Iceland team returned home | :48:20. | :48:23. | |
after their successes during euro 2016. | :48:24. | :48:28. | |
And these young men know how to communicate with the crowds. The | :48:29. | :48:32. | |
likes of Gareth Bale, as I was saying, they are so comfortable in | :48:33. | :48:35. | |
the press conferences. They know what to say. When Gareth Bale turns | :48:36. | :48:41. | |
to the press and says "I don't need any more inspiration than this | :48:42. | :48:47. | |
dragon on my chest", fantastic. Join in at home if you want to. | :48:48. | :49:10. | |
# I just don't want to go home I wanna stay here | :49:11. | :49:16. | |
# Please don't, please don't take me home.# | :49:17. | :49:24. | |
That will be in my dreams. And most of the fans here now, of | :49:25. | :49:31. | |
course, they were unable to get to France it is their first opportunity | :49:32. | :49:35. | |
to say thank you to the players. Those who were in France, they were | :49:36. | :49:40. | |
able to do that at the end of the tournament, the end of the | :49:41. | :49:43. | |
semi-final. But this is their first opportunity for the fans at home to | :49:44. | :49:47. | |
say thank you to the players. It is great. A remarkable effort | :49:48. | :49:54. | |
from the fans. If you are a super fan and stayed | :49:55. | :50:01. | |
for the entire duration, you would have drove 3,000 miles across France | :50:02. | :50:08. | |
and spend ?4500,000. Life savings used up. Dairies | :50:09. | :50:12. | |
cleared for the special moment. Now we wait for the players to leave the | :50:13. | :50:14. | |
bus. George Williams, the youngest member | :50:15. | :50:32. | |
of the squad walking off the bus. I bumped into him with his girlfriend | :50:33. | :50:36. | |
in the centre of Paris on a day off. You would never have guessed he was | :50:37. | :50:41. | |
a football star, on his own just enjoying Paris and that has the | :50:42. | :50:47. | |
relaxed nature of this Wales setup. Chris Coleman, his smile says it | :50:48. | :50:48. | |
all. The players making their way into | :50:49. | :51:17. | |
the Cardiff City Stadium. The fans, some of them dispersing, someone | :51:18. | :51:20. | |
team to go into the stadium and many have tickets for tonight's show, | :51:21. | :51:27. | |
starting in around 40 minutes live on BBC One Wales. Quite a lot of the | :51:28. | :51:34. | |
fans have walked the route with the bus comedy two buses which have come | :51:35. | :51:45. | |
along. -- with the seam, the two buses. | :51:46. | :51:51. | |
We were told about these fans possibly not able to make the trip | :51:52. | :52:01. | |
to France. That bit at the end of the game, the special bit when the | :52:02. | :52:08. | |
fans went ... The players went over to the fans. Those were the memories | :52:09. | :52:15. | |
that will stay with many of the fans for years to come, especially after | :52:16. | :52:19. | |
the disappointment of the semifinal, they will still remember those final | :52:20. | :52:24. | |
scenes when the players for the final time in Paris said, Diolch, | :52:25. | :52:36. | |
Merci, fantastic. It's been a fantastic time for all the people. | :52:37. | :52:45. | |
The fans moving, getting to the stadium to find their seat. A | :52:46. | :52:47. | |
remarkable day. Take us back to Dinard. I promise I | :52:48. | :53:04. | |
will not interrupt you this time. Behind-the-scenes in the Wales camp. | :53:05. | :53:10. | |
I think the word to use is professional, everything. To begin | :53:11. | :53:16. | |
with, choosing Dinard as the spot, an idyllic quiet location. The | :53:17. | :53:22. | |
transport was perfect, within ten minutes they could get on the bus to | :53:23. | :53:28. | |
the airport and were able to fly very easily from city to city. We | :53:29. | :53:33. | |
were driving and it took six hours to get to Bordeaux and they were in | :53:34. | :53:38. | |
the air for 30 minutes. That was important. And after the loss | :53:39. | :53:41. | |
against England they could come back and regroup in a quiet place. | :53:42. | :53:48. | |
Generally the fans didn't go near Dinard. They were able to relax and | :53:49. | :53:53. | |
recuperate and enjoyed their time. Choosing Dinard was especially | :53:54. | :54:01. | |
perfect, but they have just been professional in everything they have | :54:02. | :54:06. | |
done. They have dealt with the press as well, the setup in Dinard at the | :54:07. | :54:11. | |
training centre. We had a press conference at 2:30pm every day, and | :54:12. | :54:16. | |
we were given access to the players as well, that was great. We got to | :54:17. | :54:21. | |
know them. If the media get to know them, the people at home do as well. | :54:22. | :54:28. | |
Sometimes when the video of whales celebrating got out, they dealt with | :54:29. | :54:33. | |
that really well. I was talking about Neil Taylor talking to the | :54:34. | :54:37. | |
press, and he was so comfortable talking about it. They dealt with | :54:38. | :54:42. | |
it, moved on, and all of a sudden he came out with a line, he said, I'm | :54:43. | :54:49. | |
missing Beyonce! The media forgot about the video and were writing | :54:50. | :54:53. | |
lines about Beyonce. The way they dealt with the press was very | :54:54. | :54:59. | |
professional. The younger generation there. Sam Vokes talked about | :55:00. | :55:11. | |
inspiring the next generation. I guess if Wales qualify for the World | :55:12. | :55:15. | |
Cup in Russia, it will not be the same. We have waited so long for | :55:16. | :55:22. | |
this one. We will just expect it to! That's partly true. I think the | :55:23. | :55:26. | |
players and management realise that and they have made a point of | :55:27. | :55:31. | |
enjoying this. In every press conference, Chris Coleman was saying | :55:32. | :55:34. | |
to go out and enjoy the experience and I think that's what these | :55:35. | :55:39. | |
players have been able to do, and it shows on the pitch and in the | :55:40. | :55:45. | |
results. They have laptop every second. Inevitably the expectation | :55:46. | :55:51. | |
will be higher now. They have moved up to 11th in the world, or whatever | :55:52. | :55:57. | |
it is, which brings expectations. The sort of performances we produced | :55:58. | :56:03. | |
in France set the benchmark. What they did against Belgium and Russia, | :56:04. | :56:07. | |
that sets the standards for the teams to come and the players to | :56:08. | :56:11. | |
continue with. If anything they need to take it on a step from there. | :56:12. | :56:15. | |
There comes more challenges because the opposition will set up in a | :56:16. | :56:19. | |
different way because they will know the threat of Aaron Ramsey, Gareth | :56:20. | :56:23. | |
Bale. They are good challenges, these are the sorts of challenges | :56:24. | :56:28. | |
you want. You want to feel that confidence. You do not want to feel | :56:29. | :56:33. | |
last but one all last in the group. Now you expect to win the group, as | :56:34. | :56:38. | |
we did here. Chris Coleman said before nearly every game that Wales | :56:39. | :56:42. | |
were underdogs and were enjoying that tag. The pressure was off, | :56:43. | :56:48. | |
let's go and win. Who was the main man of the tournament for you? Chris | :56:49. | :56:53. | |
Coleman has been saying that Aaron Ramsey has been one of the players | :56:54. | :56:58. | |
of the tournament for him. He really got things ticking. Who knows what | :56:59. | :57:02. | |
would have happened against Portugal if Aaron Ramsey was there. You | :57:03. | :57:07. | |
wonder how crucial that loss was. As you have said today, Joe Allen was | :57:08. | :57:13. | |
the metronome, getting things ticking. Aaron Ramsey added to that | :57:14. | :57:18. | |
and was also able to push forward and was a genuine attacking threat. | :57:19. | :57:23. | |
If people have eyes on Aaron Ramsey, they don't have as many eyes on | :57:24. | :57:29. | |
Gareth Bale and that opens up space. Thank you very much for your company | :57:30. | :57:34. | |
this afternoon. It has been a remarkable after noon. There is live | :57:35. | :57:38. | |
coverage of the special concert here at the Cardiff City Stadium at | :57:39. | :57:44. | |
6:30pm on BBC One Wales. Because of that there is no Wales Today | :57:45. | :57:50. | |
tonight, but there will be an extended news after the BBC One News | :57:51. | :57:55. | |
at 10pm. The Wales team have achieved so much this summer, | :57:56. | :57:58. | |
excited and delighted a proud nation. From all of us here, good | :57:59. | :58:03. | |
evening. I don't think we ever thought we | :58:04. | :58:46. | |
would see this in our lifetime. So proud and honoured, putting on the | :58:47. | :58:53. | |
red shirt for Wales, to share it with all these fans today is | :58:54. | :58:56. | |
incredible. There's Joe Ledley! | :58:57. | :59:00. |