This is the moment Spanish football fans poured into Gibraltar late on Tuesday night after La Roja booked their place in the World Cup final.
It came as the frontier between Spain and the British Overseas Territory fully reopened following the signing of the post-Brexit agreement.
Videos shared on social media showed crowds waving Spanish flags, sounding car horns and celebrating in the streets around the border crossing following Spain’s stunning victory over France.
The scenes came on a day already steeped in history, with July 15 marking the first day the Gibraltar frontier has operated without the traditional physical gate after Spain and the UK implemented their long-awaited border agreement.
One social media user from neighbouring La Linea wrote: ‘Today they are removing the Gibraltar gate and those of us from La Linea are going to celebrate Spain’s victory over Gibraltar.’
Following the final whistle, videos appeared to show hundreds of supporters gathering near the border and around Gibraltar’s airport, with traffic slowing as motorists blasted their horns and waved Spanish flags from car windows.
Some social media users described the atmosphere as ‘mayhem’, although there were no reports of serious disorder.
The celebrations followed Spain’s dramatic semi-final victory over France, sending the national team into Sunday’s World Cup final – where they will face either England or Argentina.
The timing made for an extraordinary evening on the Rock, with the reopening of the border allowing supporters to move freely between La Linea and Gibraltar before joining in celebrations that lasted late into the night.
The border reopening is one of the most significant changes to life in Gibraltar since Brexit, replacing the old frontier arrangements with a new system designed to facilitate the movement of people between Gibraltar and Spain while introducing Schengen-style controls at Gibraltar’s port and airport.
Tuesday night’s football celebrations offered an early glimpse of what a more open frontier could look like, with Spanish supporters crossing into Gibraltar in large numbers to mark one of the country’s biggest sporting victories in years.
