Orange fever sweeps through Holland and Hamburg as NL plays its first Euros match

There’s nothing quite like a football game to get the Dutch fanatical and frenzied — and this weekend was no different.

The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship began last Friday, and Oranje (the nickname for the Dutch national football team) had its first match against Poland on Sunday, June 16.

Natuurlijk, a horde of orange was present in Hamburg, Germany, to display their support for the team.

The Oranje fan parade began gathering as early as 8:30 AM, dancing along to Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren’s greatest hits before making their way to the stadium, reports the BBC.

Tens of thousands of fans walked from Hamburg’s city centre towards the Volksparkstadion, sporting full orange suits, lion costumes, and cheese wheels for hats.

READ MORE | Why does the Netherlands love orange? The full explainer

And of course, it wouldn’t be a Dutch football match if the fans weren’t dancing to Links Rechts either (yes, a football match does count as a patriotic event).

After a nail-biting match, Oranje won its first game against Poland 2-1, despite an early goal from Poland.

Cody Gakpo scored in ’29, and Wout Weghorst was subbed on and made the late-match winning goal in ’83.

The Dutch celebration comes despite an incident that occurred earlier in the day.

An axe-wielding German man was shot in the leg after threatening fans along Hamburg’s Reeperbahn, reports BBC.

The incident happened around 12:30 PM local time and is considered an isolated, non-football-related incident.

Are you keeping up with the Euros tournament this year? Tell us what you think in the comments!