Ciao! Lionesses party the night away at Soho's Little Italy ahead of their big victory parade in London after the red carpet was rolled out for them at No10 following their historic Euros 2025 win
After an emotional whirlwind 48 hours of celebrations following their historic Euros 2025 victory, the squad poured out of their taxis and straight into Little Italy in central London.
All of the squad seemed to be in high spirits, laughing and linking arms as they made their way into the lively late-night spot, sporting their third outfit change of the day.
It came just hours after the team had been honoured with a special reception at No10 Downing Street, hosted by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.
It saw the whole street adorned in full patriotic splendour, complete with fluttering St George's flags and celebratory bunting.
Looking radiant and relaxed, captain Leah Williamson led her squad through the gates of Downing Street, flanked by manager Sarina Wiegman, with the whole team having been glammed up for the occasion.
Inside, Ms Rayner gave a heartfelt speech as the players were given canapes and drinks in the garden.
Fresh from their triumphant return to home soil, England's heroic Lionesses showed no signs of slowing down last night
It came just hours after the team had been honoured with a special reception at No10 Downing Street , hosted by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner
She told the team: 'You've made us all so so proud. Role models like you send such a powerful message, the Lionesses are a shining example of talent and excitement for women's football.
Some of the team also took part in a surprise video call from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who was unable to attend in person due to talks with US President Donald Trump in Scotland.
He said: 'Fantastic to see you all and welcome to Downing Street. I just wanted to say a huge huge congratulations to you and to the whole team.
'It was an absolutely amazing victory and you must've felt the eyes and ears of the whole country on you last night.'
He added: 'You made history so many times over last night.'
Wiegman thanked him for calling and for supporting the team throughout the tournament.
Despite a whirlwind schedule and barely a moment's rest, the players are embracing every second of their victory lap – with a blockbuster open-top bus parade through The Mall set to kick off at 12.10pm today.
That will end in a glitzy ceremony outside Buckingham Palace hosted by former England star Alex Scott.
Todays celebrations are expected to echo the scenes of Trafalgar Square three years ago, though this year's road to glory has been widely hailed as even more nail-biting and unforgettable.
Yesterday, the squad landed at Southend Airport to a rapturous welcome from adoring fans – greeted with chants of 'It's coming home' and flags waving as they descended from their private jet.
Leading the way, Williamson beamed as she held the gleaming Euros trophy aloft, the team receiving a dramatic water cannon salute on the tarmac – a royal welcome for the queens of European football.
It's been a non-stop celebration since the final whistle blew on their dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Spain.
Ella Toone sang karaoke as England manager Sarina Wiegman and captain Leah Williamson cut a celebratory cake together on Sunday night.
With players still partying into the early hours of the morning, after Toone's partner Joe Bunney posted a picture at 4.10am.
Celebrations began in earnest swiftly after their title defence was assured, with the Lionesses performing a musical number as they left the field.
Led by captain Leah Williamson and Beth Mead, England's players belted out 2010 hit Dancing On My Own by Robyn as they exited down the tunnel.
The team would later return to the field armed with several boxes of pizza and cans of beer.
England managed to become European Championship winners again after a penalty shootout win against rivals Spain on Sunday night.
The game was 1-1 after 90 minutes and remained tied through 30 minutes of extra time.
Another nerve-shredding penalty shootout followed with Chloe Kelly yet again scoring the winning penalty sparking jubilant scene in the stadium in Basel and in millions of homes back in the UK.
Fans can attend the victory parade today for free and it will also be broadcast live on BBC, ITV, and Sky.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
37 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Lionesses captain Leah Williamson sends emotional nine-word statement to fans as she laps up Euro 2025 victory parade
After an emotional, erratic 10 minutes for Lionesses captain Leah Williamson, which saw her bawling her eyes out down the Mall, she uttered the words every English football fan wanted to hear: 'Stay with us — this story is not done yet.' England celebrated their second European crown in style on Tuesday afternoon with an open-top bus parade that delivered them to the gates of Buckingham Palace, drawing a 65,000-strong crowd. It was a marked upgrade on the Trafalgar Square celebrations following their 2022 triumph, which was hastily assembled and capped at 7,000. This time, the event was planned in advance and emphatically dispelled defender Esme Morgan's concerns that there would not be enough people to fill the space. A choked-up Williamson told the crowd: 'I'm in the trenches, I am holding back tears. I have been crying all the way down the Mall, this is unbelievable.' Then the 28-year-old Arsenal defender added, with a nod to the upcoming World Cup in Brazil in 2027: 'Stay with us — this story is not done yet.' Lucy Bronze, who defied logic by playing the tournament with a fractured tibia, was asked by former England international Alex Scott whether she planned to hang up her boots. The defender replied simply: 'Not yet!'
Daily Mail
37 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Two days of solid partying and no sleep... but the Lionesses are still at peak bounce! JANE FRYER on England's Euro winners
The decibel levels were pretty high already on The Mall – horns blowing, fans shouting and helicopters thumping overhead. But when the open-top bus finally crawls along behind the bobbing white hats and sliding trombones of the Band of His Majesty's Royal Marines Portsmouth, the 65,000-strong crowd goes completely bananas. Screaming girls draped in England flags are hoisted on to shoulders. Women in full football kit clutch each other and yell. Middle-aged men jump up and down. Flags and mobile phones fill the sky, and everyone lurches forward for a glimpse of our returning champions. Who, somehow, after a gruelling tournament with an awful lot of extra time, two days of solid partying (with a short break for a Downing Street reception) a couple of 4am finishes and almost no sleep, are still at peak bounce. Jumping and dancing and punching the air. There's Chloe Kelly skipping and singing. Michelle Agyemang at the back. Captain Leah Williamson weeping. Coach Sarina Wiegman waving like a mad woman from the middle of the bus as someone shouts 'Sarina for Prime Minister!' And, of course, the great 140-cap veteran, Lucy Bronze. 'Oh my God, she's a bloody legend. She's insane,' says Sam Bottomley from Herne Bay, who is next to me in the crowd with her twin daughters Mia and Paige. 'All these male footballers rolling around on the floor with a bent back finger and she's played the whole tournament with a broken tibia. That's Proper England – resilience and teamwork – and what better influence for young girls?' And boys, Sam! All of us, for that matter. Which, presumably, is why so many people came today. Some, from hundreds of miles away, arriving in the wee small hours to grab a front row seat. And every hour since, thousands and thousands more, in a great wave of flags, football strips and excitement sweeping across London's Royal parks. Mums and daughters, like Amelia and Kara, from Stevenage. 'As soon as they won, I got my daughter to ring my boss and ask for the day off!' says Amelia. 'We had to be here.' Grannies – 'we've never really had a women's sports team to support before' says Helen, 68, from Winslow. Toddlers with smeary face paint. A dog called Winifred who's watched every match at home in Brighton and, today, is dressed top to paw in football finery. Silas, from Camden, who has an Abyssinian cat called Kanga snuggled around his neck wrapped in an England flag. There is great excitement when Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are spotted in the front of the crowds with their new daughter Athena and Edoardo's son Wolfie – though I somehow doubt they were putting up camping chairs at dawn. Oh yes, and a chap called Tom from Cirencester, here in a sports jacket with his three young sons and nine-week-old baby girl – 'I wanted her to witness a piece of history.' Not just because the Lionesses have won again. And on penalties. But how they did it. How they help each other. Share the glory. The lack of fuss. Which, according to Graham, a heavily tattooed Millwall fan from Bexley with the biggest flag here, is what it's all about. 'I used to follow the men's, but it's a bit boring now. 'The women are more exciting because there's no theatrics, they just get on with it.' In fact, as we waited and waited for the parade, I don't think I've ever been in such a friendly, warm, lovely crowd. Some just want to say thank you. Others to pay homage. All seem happy with even the slightest glimpse of our new champions. Which is presumably why no one makes a fuss when the Lionesses finally reach the big stage in front of Buckingham Palace, and it turns out that the sound quality is disappointingly poor. So rubbish that most of us can't hear when Hannah Hampton tells the crowds never to give up on a dream if it makes you happy. Or when 19-year-old student Michelle tells her team how much she loves them all. But we can see the great Lucy Bronze looking daunting with a red and white Euro Champions scarf tied round her head and full skiing sunglasses. 'Oh my God!' says a lady near me on crutches. 'I've got the same leg break as her; I've been on crutches for 12 weeks and she's played an entire football tournament!' And there's coach Sarina dancing when her favourite singer, Burna Boy, comes on as a surprise and the whole of the Mall erupts into a giant disco. And, oddly, we can suddenly all hear very loud and clear when Chloe Kelly laughs off the idea of feeling any stress – 'Pressure! What pressure?' – and sends TV presenter Alex Scott into a stricture when, in all the excitement, she tells us how very proud she is to be English and that it's all 'so f***ing special'. But, again, nobody cares. Because she's right – it is. It really is. And she did apologise very nicely afterwards.
The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
Lionesses' Beatlemania-like homecoming shows women footballers are FINALLY getting the honour and respect they deserve
WITH Chloe Kelly inevitably at the front of the bus, the Royal Marines band struck up Sweet Caroline and the parade was off. Inching down the Mall — British royalty's ceremonial thoroughfare — the Lionesses were accorded all the trappings of a state occasion. 11 11 11 Banned by the FA for half a century, ridiculed and written off by others, women footballers were now receiving the honour and respect they have long been due. And much of the admiration was coming from mums, who had brought their daughters along to soak in the inspirational Lioness magic. Among them was Kerry Randall, from Gloucester, who made a last-minute decision to bring her brood — Kaydee, six, Hadley, seven, Lennox, ten, Macey, 12 and Cole, 14. The 37-year-old early-years educator told me: 'It's nice for the girls to see we're equal to the men — if not better sometimes.' Daughter Macey added: 'It shows that women can succeed in life.' Holding a giant poster of Beth Mead, student and football coach Tillie Sykes, from Bromley, South London, said: 'The win meant everything to me. It's a giant step forward for women's football and for women in general.' Proper recognition for the Lionesses' achievements has taken a long time — but now it's unmistakably here. Standing ten deep around me as the bus passed, the Beatlemania-like roar from tens of thousands of female voices was deafening. There were plenty of blokes in attendance, but with so many women cramming along the railings lining St James's Park, the testosterone was drowned out. Michelle Agyemang, the tournament's 19-year-old breakout star, seemed a little overawed by the ecstatic scenes that were unfurling as the bus passed a sea of phones. There were plenty of blokes in attendance, but with so many women cramming along the railings lining St James's Park, the testosterone was drowned out. Inside Lionesses' boozy Euro 2025 celebrations as stars party with pizzas, beers and loved ones after win over Spain No one was swilling tinnies, let alone chopping out lines of coke in the Portaloos. And nobody felt the need to shove a lit flare up their bottom, as a smashed fan had before the English men's Euro 2020 final defeat at Wembley. Passing alternate Union flags and St George Crosses on the Mall, the procession soon reached Buckingham Palace. I'd half expected the wrought iron gates to swing open and a flunky to beckon inspirational coach Sarina Wiegman inside to collect an honorary damehood then and there. It's no more than the likeable 55-year-old Dutch former PE teacher deserves. 11 11 11 Her squad shuffled on to a makeshift stage in front of the Victoria Memorial. Beneath the gilded monument to one English Queen, there now gathered more than two dozen others. Seated on a throne above the Lionesses was the marble figure of Queen Victoria, her memorial topped with the glinting bronze statue of winged victory. 'They didn't want us on their pitches' When the King's great, great, great grandmother died in 1901 women didn't even have the vote. It took another 27 years before all women over 21 were finally enfranchised, giving them the same voting rights as men. Women's football had a similar struggle to win acceptance in a male-dominated world. Amid the scenes of hysteria, I thought back to the day in 2010 when I met Edna Broughton, then 80, who was the Chloe Kelly of her day. Edna, who sadly didn't live to see the Lionesses' two Euro triumphs, was star striker for the world-famous Dick, Kerr Ladies football team, which was founded in 1917. In its heyday they played in front of 53,000 fans at Everton's Goodison Park, and beat a French side in the first ever women's international. The team were treated like superstars — but in the stuffy Football Association corridors of power, it caused deep consternation. Minutes from a 1921 meeting read: 'Complaints have been made as to football being played by women and the Council feel impelled to express their strong opinion that the game is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged.' So women footballers were banned from all FA-affiliated grounds — and incredibly, it lasted for 50 years. I love the fact that they're so proud to be English and that it doesn't matter what colour or race you are. That brings people together. Pat MacFarlane, 64, fan at the parade Edna, who played for Dick Kerr from 1945 until 1959, told me: 'They were chauvinists — they didn't want us on their pitches. 'I think the men were worried because we were becoming as popular as they were.' So yesterday's celebrations were also for those who came before the Lionesses, and for the young girls who will follow after — not just as footballers, but as leaders in industry and politics who will have fed off the Lionesses' guts, drive and will to succeed. As student Katie Baird, 18, from Guildford, Surrey, put it: 'The women's teams had massive crowds before they were banned — but now we're back.' Her friend Lauren Mutch, 19, added: 'The Lionesses' victory was nothing short of inspirational. They showed the men how it's done.' In their St George plastic bowler hats, Joyce Allison, 79, Elizabeth Elrick, 73, and Pat MacFarlane, 64, had travelled from London's East End to witness the joyous scenes on the Mall. Teacher Pat told me: 'When I was a kid, only boys were allowed to play football. We were told you weren't allowed to play.' Of the Lionesses, she said: 'I love the fact that they're so proud to be English and that it doesn't matter what colour or race you are. That brings people together.' 11 11 11 11
