“It’s just fantastic to see so many Geordies here!”: Newcastle United supporters take over Covent Garden ahead of the Carabao Cup Final

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Newcastle United supporters took over Covent Garden in London on Saturday evening, ahead of the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool at Wembley. Daniel Wales reports.

Transcript

00:00So, we're here in Covent Garden in central London where Newcastle United supporters have

00:09taken over the capital. It's a sea of black and white behind me, there's pyrotechnics,

00:14there's a lot of fun being had, of course ahead of the Calgary World Cup final at Wembley

00:19on Sunday against Liverpool. But for now though, that's out of their heads, all they want to

00:23do is have a good time and support their team.

00:27The day had started back in Newcastle, where thousands of Geordies were getting ready to

00:32begin their journeys south to London. Flags were draped on the banks of the Tyne to give

00:40them all the best send-off possible. Those arriving at Central Station in the city centre

00:48knew that rail works on the east coast main line meant that replacement coaches would

00:52be used to get as far as York, before trains would then take them the rest of the way to

00:57the capital. A steady stream of travellers were beginning to arrive.

01:10On the trains, the atmosphere was full of anticipation, not necessarily about the match

01:15itself at this point, but instead about joining the black and white party in Covent Garden.

01:21The arrival of the trains into Kings Cross Station saw the volume increase, as all of

01:26the Newcastle supporters made their way off the platforms and outside into the London

01:30fresh air, before they all began to disperse onto the Tube network, with Covent Garden

01:36being the next destination.

01:42By mid-afternoon it was already chaotic, but all were in good spirits and enjoying the

01:47Geordie take-over.

02:17As the evening progressed, thoughts of the final began

02:45to creep into many minds, but the joy of being part of this celebration had allowed

03:46At that point though, the final was still many hours away, and the spectacle of thousands

03:51of Newcastle supporters in the heart of the capital, in full voice, was a sight to behold.

03:57I think, you know, as you can see behind you, plenty of fans, plenty of atmosphere, great

04:03atmosphere again, so, you know, we've just got to savour this, enjoy it, and see what

04:07tomorrow brings.

04:08Yeah, everyone seems in good spirits, you know, there's a few fags around, you know,

04:13they've got the pub hanging them from the top, yeah, everyone seems good spirits.

04:19Several miles north-west of Covent Garden, Wembley Stadium was quiet, as if preparing

04:25for what was to come.

04:27Inside, War Flags were busy setting up their pre-match display, in the hope of giving the

04:32players an extra edge ahead of kick-off.

04:36Unhappy memories of two years ago are still fresh for Newcastle, and the Geordies would

04:41not like to see them be repeated.

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