logo
Wales fan seen crying on TV cameras at Euro 2025 describes special moment that tipped him over the edge

Wales fan seen crying on TV cameras at Euro 2025 describes special moment that tipped him over the edge

Wales Online7 hours ago
Wales fan seen crying on TV cameras at Euro 2025 describes special moment that tipped him over the edge
His tears summed up the emotion at an historic day in Switzerland
Wales fan Dai Rees cries at the anthem in Euro 2025 as Wales take on the Netherlands
(Image: BBC )
As Wales' women belted out the anthem on the pitch, in the stands in Lucerne, the 4,000 travelling fans did too. One of those who caught the eye of the TV cameras was Dai Rees.
One of those who found the whole experience a little overwhelming, he was caught wiping tears away from his eyes as the pre-match rendition of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau finished.

Being interviewed on BBC Radio Wales this morning, he joked: "It's the opportunity that I've been waiting for my whole life. I was desperate to be on the telly, now it finally happened when I'm crying."

"I cried at the anthem...it was such an emotional day. In such a positive way from the fanzone to the ground, the walk that the fans did, from the fans down to the ground, mixing with the Dutch and then kind of seeing the players warm up and there's so many families and everything else around. Sign up to the Don't Take Me Home newsletter here .
"I cry at the anthem most times I go watch Wales play, to be honest, but this was extra special and to to feel and see that emotion, all those people around us, it just kind of got a bit on top of me, as you did a couple of strong continental Swiss lagers."
Dai, from the Coleman Had a Dream podcast, shared more of his story in a blog post. "I shouted my way through the start of the anthem and the 'gwlads' tipped me over the edge. I was gone...as I looked up from his tear stained shoulder, I saw myself wiping tears from my eyes on the screen. The realisation that this was on worldwide TV dawned on me and very quickly I had a lot of messages. Nia Jones referred to me as a future meme in radio commentary and I received plenty of friendly ribbing, in the ground too.
Article continues below
Wales fan Dai Rees cries at the anthem in Euro 2025 as Wales take on the Netherlands
(Image: BBC )
"I've heard from kids I used to teach, from Boston to Barry and people I went to Uni with. My old music teacher even messaged me and my mum told me I'd gone viral. I still don't think she knows what that means, so Christ knows who told her that. Whilst I was the one on the screen, I was far from the only one feeling that way. I'm very grateful that the emotion was captured yesterday. A great memory and memento of the day."
Ahead of the game, Welsh and Dutch fans walked together to the stadium, 8,000 joined together, with what the FAW has said was the biggest fan walk in women's Euro history.

In the post match press conference, manager Rhian Wilkinson told journalists the fans had made a huge difference.
"Even better," said Wilkinson, when asked whether the support was as good as the players had dreamt of.
"I spoke to the players before the game as well, and I said: 'These people have shown up to thank you for getting them there.

"They want to see you give it everything you have and they're right there behind you.' And that's exactly what they did.
"From the second I walked out before the players, I got a little bit intimidated, it was quite emotional.
Welsh fans in Lucerne in Switzerland
(Image: Getty Images )

"And of course it was for the players as well. So a huge thank you to all the fans here and back home.
"Of course, we want to push our standards and make sure to get the game a little tighter and make our moments count in these two games.
"But, a huge thank you to the crowd tonight and the Dutch fans, what a cool atmosphere for both teams."
Article continues below
However, Wales' women lost 3-0 in their opening game of Euro 2025, you can read the report here. The team are at their first major tournament ever.
Up next for Rhian Wilkinson's side are two more tough games against France on Wednesday, July 9, and England on Sunday, July 13, in St Gallen.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Music trade bodies accuse BBC of ‘arbitrary' changes after Bob Vylan Glastonbury set
Music trade bodies accuse BBC of ‘arbitrary' changes after Bob Vylan Glastonbury set

The Guardian

time19 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Music trade bodies accuse BBC of ‘arbitrary' changes after Bob Vylan Glastonbury set

Music industry figures have accused the BBC of making 'arbitrary and disproportionate' changes to its coverage of live music after the fallout from Bob Vylan's Glastonbury festival performance. There is serious concern among artists and music agencies over a BBC decision that means any musical performances deemed to be high risk will not be broadcast live or streamed live. The BBC came under pressure from the government after it did not cut a Glastonbury livestream that showed Bobby Vylan, whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, leading chants of 'death, death to the IDF', referring to the Israel Defense Forces. The performance was never shown on terrestrial television, but viewers could have seen it via an on-demand livestream on iPlayer, where it was available for five hours. The BBC's director general, Tim Davie, and chair, Samir Shah, have apologised and disciplinary action is expected for some of those directly involved. However, music industry insiders said the corporation has seriously overreacted, pointing to the fact that extensive Glastonbury coverage has been running for years without serious incident. Several also cited free speech concerns for artists. David Martin, the head of the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), the UK trade body representing music artists, called for a rethink and said it was a moment for 'cool heads and an even-handed approach'. 'The BBC is absolutely fundamental to the continued success of British music, and particularly vital to supporting our new and emerging artists' development,' he said. 'The FAC wholeheartedly supports the network's remit for public service broadcasting, something which is encapsulated by their Glastonbury coverage. That remit also comes with responsibilities. The BBC is rightly held to the highest regulatory, legal and editorial standards. If those standards have been breached, then there should be appropriate guidelines to follow. 'But the idea of preemptively grading artists according to their 'risk' factor feels arbitrary and disproportionate – and a dangerous step towards censorship. That kind of approach could potentially curtail artistic freedom around certain genres and inadvertently punish those who are simply expressing their views. It's a road I think we should resist going down. 'Live music is incredibly important to the UK. It provides entertainment and cultural capital. But it's also an art form, and our performers should be free to challenge, provoke and take risks.' Naomi Pohl, the general secretary of the Musicians' Union, said she was very concerned by the BBC's decision to be more cautious about live music broadcasts. 'We really don't want to see the BBC broadcasting fewer live events,' she said. 'It's such a shame there has been this shadow cast over this year's Glastonbury coverage, because it has had fantastic viewing figures. It's been all over iPlayer and people have been tuning in live. 'We need to talk to the BBC about it directly. But I don't want to see any broadcasters now broadcasting fewer live events because they don't want to take the risk. The whole of the music industry will be feeling that, because it's so crucial to us to have the BBC.' The BBC's decision came after significant political pressure. Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, said the incident – together with other BBC issues over Gaza coverage – could be 'a problem of leadership'. Davie currently has the support of the BBC board. There is frustration among some in the BBC that the number of people who actually saw the Bob Vylan broadcast was very small. Others say editorial cuts have aggravated issues around the monitoring of live streams. A BBC spokesperson said: 'We will continue to bring audiences a range of music performances, both live and on-demand, and we respect artists' freedom of expression. However, Bob Vylan's offensive and deplorable behaviour on one of our Glastonbury live streams was completely unacceptable and we are sorry it appeared on the BBC. 'This is why we have made immediate changes to livestreaming music events, and these alongside our editorial guidelines will shape our plans going forward.'

Lisa Nandy aide 'drafted note saying BBC is institutionally antisemitic'
Lisa Nandy aide 'drafted note saying BBC is institutionally antisemitic'

The National

time21 minutes ago

  • The National

Lisa Nandy aide 'drafted note saying BBC is institutionally antisemitic'

Nandy is due to meet with Israeli ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely at an unconfirmed date and was advised by a policy officer to make the claim against the BBC. But a source at the Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport told The National that this was dropped and the Culture Secretary would not brand the BBC 'antisemitic' at her meeting with the ambassador. They said: 'It was an initial draft.' READ MORE: How the UK media are covering up British spy flights for Israel It comes after independent journalist Matt Kennard revealed that briefing notes for the meeting had also advised the Culture Secretary to tell Hotovely that 'one mistake is an editing error but if you have multiple mistakes you need to look at the leadership'. The BBC found itself under fire from the upper echelons of the UK Government after broadcasting punk band Bob Vylan (below) leading at chant at Glastonbury which called for 'death to the [Israeli Defence Forces]'. (Image: Yui Mok) Kennard also reported that Nandy was also advised to tell the Israeli ambassador that 'Glastonbury continues to host acts with vile and inflammatory views' and more investigation was needed. The Bob Vylan chant was denounced as 'antisemitic' by Nandy, who last week told MPs: 'There is a clear difference between speaking out for Palestine, which is the right of everybody in this house and everybody in our country, and antisemitism, which is not and never will be. 'When the rights and safety of people and communities are at risk and when our national broadcaster fails to uphold its own standards, we will intervene.' READ MORE: Tony Blair's staff took part in 'Gaza Riviera' project, reports say She has discussed the matter with BBC director-general Tim Davie and demanded an explanation as to why the segment was broadcast. Nandy said last week: 'When you have one editorial failure, it's something that must be gripped. When you have several, it becomes a problem of leadership.' Bob Vylan's comments were reported to the police, with Avon and Somerset Police confirming footage would be "assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed". The band had their US visas revoked ahead of a tour of the country and the BBC later announced it would no longer broadcast "high risk" live performances.

Stanway urges England to go back to their roots for make-or-break match
Stanway urges England to go back to their roots for make-or-break match

The Guardian

time22 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Stanway urges England to go back to their roots for make-or-break match

Georgia Stanway wants the Lionesses to go back to their roots and be 'proper England' as they prepare to face the Netherlands at Euro 2025 after their opening-game defeat against France. 'We know as a team that we underperformed. We know as individuals that we underperformed,' Stanway said. 'I didn't want to do the press conference today because I'm fed up of talking now. It's time that we focus on putting things right on the grass. 'We're all just dying for the game to come round as fast as possible because we want to make sure that we're stepping on that pitch knowing what we've experienced but also wanting to make a change. 'We've spoken about wanting to be 'proper England'; we want to go back to what we're good at, we want to go back to a traditional style of football in terms of tough tackles, getting back to our roots and remembering why we're here, remembering that we're playing for the little girl that wanted to be here.' After the 2-1 defeat on Saturday, the Lionesses came together. 'We had good conversations, good meetings, we watched clips,' Stanway said. 'The day after the game, as soon as you get on that grass, you kind of forget about everything that's happened. I had a message from somebody that I knew and it was like: 'It's just like a bad night out that you want to forget it as much as possible. Move on to the next one.' So yeah, that's exactly what we're going to do.' England will be out of the tournament if they lose against the Netherlands in Zurich on Wednesday and France are not beaten by Wales. The pressure is on the holders but Lucy Bronze, who is competing at her seventh major tournament, helped to put things in perspective, recounting to her teammates how England lost their opening game of the World Cup in 2015, against France, before going on to reach the semi-finals. Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion 'It was a together moment,' Stanway said. 'It was 2-1 [and] we could have got a draw. We just need to perform and we want the fans to stay with us, they know that we're capable. True fans stick with us to the end.' Stanway was disappointed with her own performance against France, with England's midfield overrun and outmuscled. 'For some reason, I couldn't do the things that I wanted to be able to do in possession,' the Bayern Munich midfielder said. 'That's why I just knew that I had to run around and I had to put some tackles in, that was my way of showing if I can't do something on the ball then I'll work my socks off to make sure that I can do it off the ball.' Despite not having played much football after knee surgery earlier this year, Stanway is able to take positives from her current circumstance. 'You're able to work on things in the gym that you haven't had time to work on before, you're able to get fitter, faster, stronger, and for me that is the case,' she said. 'I've got test results now that I've not seen in the last two years and I do think that is because of the time that I got to do the rehab sessions.' Stanway believes the key to success against the Netherlands will be good communication. 'On the pitch if you need something and you're not getting it, or if you want something and you're not getting it, it can feel like a lonely place, and we don't ever want to experience that as a team. We want to make sure we've got the eye contact and are communicating in the good and the bad moments, because that's when we get the best out of each other.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store