Women’s Euro: Berne celebrates a football festival without a happy ending
Keystone-SDA
Spain ended Switzerland’s run in the Women’s European Championship with a 2-0 quarter-final win at Bern’s Wankdorf Stadium. But the 25,000 fans who marched through the city made history, staging the largest supporters’ march in Women’s Euros history.
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It was another lively night of football in the Swiss city of Bern, but there was no happy ending. The Swiss women’s national team was knocked out by Spain in the quarter-final at the Wankdorf.
To beat the world champions, Switzerland needed another “Miracle of Bern”. Fans did their best to summon the spirit on the way to the Stadium but the footballing gods had other ideas.
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For the city of Bern, though, this quarter-final will be remembered. An estimated 25,000 fans made their way to the stadium in the early evening: the largest supporters’ march in the history of the Women’s Euros.
The new record was driven largely by Swiss fans, with a few hundred Spanish supporters also joining the march.
A peaceful atmosphere
The crowd made its way from the city centre to the Bear Pit, then up the Aargauerstalden towards the stadium. Under clear blue skies and in temperatures just shy of 30 degrees, the mood was peaceful and cheerful, according to a reporter from the Keystone-SDA news agency.
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The Women’s European Championship has been running since 1984. The previous record was set just under two weeks ago, also in Bern, when 14,000 fans joined the supporters’ march ahead of Switzerland’s match with Iceland.
The Wankdorf Stadium was packed to capacity, with all 29,734 seats sold. The public screening at Bundesplatz also drew a strong crowd. An hour before kick-off, the fan zone had reached full capacity and anyone hoping to get in had to wait for others to leave.
All eyes on the match
Crowds also gathered around screens across the city centre. Even at the Gurtenfestival, the match was on everyone’s mind. Among the colourful festival outfits on the Bernese mountain, a few red Switzerland shirts stood out.
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The match broadcast brought the festival’s music line-up to a close. “We want to keep up with the times. Everyone’s talking about the Euros – not showing this historic quarter-final would’ve been out of touch,” Gurtenfestival spokeswoman Nadine Brönnimann told the Keystone-SDA news agency.
Just in time for kick-off, the slope next to the tent stage filled with festival-goers keen to watch the match. Some were so far from the screen that the ball was barely visible, but that did little to dampen the electric atmosphere.
A long night
Switzerland’s defeat took some of the shine off the evening in Bern, but it didn’t bring the party to a halt.
On one hand, fans paid tribute to their selfless team. “A performance we can be proud of,” wrote Swiss Sports Minister Martin Pfister on X. He added: “I congratulate the team and I welcome the growing support for women’s football.”
On the other hand, the city had already declared a night of celebration, regardless of the quarter-final result. The idea was to honour the Swiss women’s efforts throughout the tournament. And after the final whistle, nothing stood in the way of a long night in Bern.
Translated from French with DeepL/sp
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