Thousands of supporters gathered on the High Street on Monday evening to celebrate Oxford United’s promotion to the Championship, confirmed after their Saturday win against Bolton Wanderers. An open-top bus parade, carrying the Oxford team and support staff, arrived at the Town Hall just before 7pm and was greeted by thousands of supporters blowing horns and waving flags in support of the team.
Supporters of all ages lined the high street from as early as 5.30pm, waving yellow and blue flags in support of the team. Excited fans let off several flares. Oxford City Council also flew the Oxford United flag over the Town Hall to celebrate the club’s promotion.
The buses set off from the Plain at 5.55pm and were expected to arrive at the Town Hall at around 6.30pm but were slightly delayed. They were accompanied by support vehicles from Thames Valley police and officers from the County Council.
Attendees included the Lord Mayor of Oxford, the leader of Oxford City Council and other invited guests and dignitaries. At the end of the parade, the players and club representatives were invited to attend a civic ceremony at the Town Hall.
There were no public speeches at the event but players engaged with the crowd, lifting the Trophy several times to great applause.
Councillor Susan Brown, leader of Oxford City Council, wrote on the Council website: “We’re delighted to welcome Oxford United to the Town Hall to celebrate their promotion to the Championship. It’s been 25 years since they last played in the second tier and there have been some very dark days along the way, which makes the victory all the sweeter,” she said.
Jim Goddard, Head of Safety and Operations at Oxford United FC wrote in advance of the parade: “We are all now looking forward to celebrating with the city of Oxford as we honour Des Buckingham and his team for their efforts. My thanks in particular go to Oxford City Council and Thames Valley police for being so supportive at such short notice.”
The event follows Oxford United’s 2-0 win over Bolton in the League One play-off final at Wembley to secure promotion into the Championship. During the parade, chants of: ‘Come on you Yellows’, ‘We are going up, we are going up’, and ‘Bolton get battered everywhere they go’ could be heard.
