Netherlands supporters turned the streets of Hamburg orange before their opening game against Poland - as they have done for decades.
More than 30,000 Netherlands fans were expected to be on the parade through the streets of Hamburg, with 15,000 of those having tickets for Sunday's game against PolandAhead of me someone is dressed as a lion, to the right a woman is wearing a cheese wheel on her head, above me foam busts of Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Dennis Bergkamp bop to the sound of the now popular football anthem Freed from Desire, as a sea of orange sways along to the beat.
"It all started in typical fashion with two friends sitting and having a beer and we thought if we qualify for Euro 2004 in Portugal we should do something," Henk van Beek, a founding member of the association that started the Dutch Oranje Bus, told BBC Sport.The Netherlands did indeed qualify and that dream came to fruition, with the bus making its way to Portugal.
"For South Africa we had to pay $5,000, which we got back at the end when we left with the bus. It was like a deposit. I joined them for this, walking alongside fans dressed as their favourite players, some wearing bright orange suits and top hats, others giant lion costumes and some carrying large stuffed lions on their shoulders.
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