EURO 2024
It's not just the performances of Bundesliga-based UEFA Euro 2024 stars like Harry Kane, Dani Olmo and Jamal Musiala that have made this summer's tournament such a spectacle. Fans from across Europe have more than played their part in making it a month-long occasion to remember...
"The atmosphere in the German stadiums and on the streets shows how much football unites people," wrote former Germany international Euro 2024 tournament director Philipp Lahm on X, reacting to scenes such as Dutch fans painting the city of Dortmund orange, or Scotland supporters filling the air with the unmistakeable sound of bagpipes, whilst convivially drinking local beer gardens dry.
"Fans marching en masse through city centres is the latest phenomenon," Lahm continued. "It's these experiences that make the tournament a European festival. It's just such great fun, and it can continue in this way."
Supporter interaction is nothing new, but the scale of the fanfare is somewhat unusual for a major tournament. Streets, alleyways and local venues have been transformed into a rainbow of colour - and not just the black, red and gold of host nation Germany.
And even though the hosts went out to Spain in the quarter-finals, the togetherness and optimism conjured by their performances have the power to live on long past the final in Berlin on 14 July.
"I think that, as a country, we tend to see the doom and gloom," commented Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann. "I think we've managed to stir the country a little, and provide it with some nice moments.
"I hope that association between the football team and the football fans will occur in normal society; that we can achieve more as a community instead of going one's own way."
Euro 2024 has provided all manner of enduring images on the pitch: Florian Wirtz's opening goal against the Scots, Jude Bellingham's overhead-kick that spared finalists England a shock elimination at the hands of Slovakia, and Spain teenager Lamine Yamal's record-breaking strike against France in the last four, to name just a few.
But stories written off the pitch, like that of André Schnura - the music teacher rendered jobless on the eve of the finals, who became a part of the furniture in the Stuttgart fan zone, delighting supporters with the sweet tones of his black saxophone - can be expected to enjoy similar longetivity and nostalgia.
Euro 2024 hasn't only been an international football spectacle for the fans, but by them as well.