OSLO : Thousands of jubilant Norway fans filled the streets of Oslo on Tuesday to celebrate their team’s place in the World Cup last 16, with mass celebrations leaving damaged metro trains, uprooted plants and broken fence posts in the city centre.
Supporters dressed in red, blue and white packed Karl Johans gate, Oslo’s main thoroughfare, stretching from the Royal Palace for hundreds of metres as they performed the synchronised “Viking row” that has become the national team’s trademark celebration during the tournament in the United States.
Norway secured their first-ever World Cup knockout victory with a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast, prompting tens of thousands of fans to pour into the capital’s streets.
The celebrations caused damage around the Royal Palace, where over-exuberant supporters uprooted plants and tore down fence posts.
“I daren’t think what will happen if we make it all the way to the final,” Royal Gardener Ole Johan Hildre told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.
Public transport was also affected, with metro operator Sporveien taking several train carriages out of service after fans tore down advertisements and dented carriage ceilings during the post-match festivities.
“It is unfortunate that people get so carried away that it affects our equipment,” Sporveien communications manager Gina Scholz told local media.
“It has been a fantastic evening,” she added.
More than two million people, over a third of Norway’s population of about 5.5 million, watched the match, according to estimates from commercial broadcaster TV2, which shares domestic television rights for the tournament.
