by Argentina players were forced to evacuate their World Cup parade by helicopter as an open-top bus parade in Buenos Aires descended into chaos.
Federal police canceled the celebration for safety reasons after fans attempted to jump onto the roof of the bus. The former landed on the upper deck, but video footage showed the latter falling from the rear of the vehicle.
Over five million people have filled the streets of the Argentine capital. Plans had been made to ride the bus through the city center, culminating in an appearance at the Obelisk, a giant tower in central Buenos Aires.
But those plans were scrapped after police intervention. Instead, the bus headed to Parque Roca, a park in the city center next to a tennis stadium, and the players were escorted to waiting helicopters. Paulo Dybala and Nahuel Molina were among those pictured inside the plane.
They were then to fly over the Obelisk and over the millions of fans still waiting to greet their heroes.
“They don’t let us say goodbye to all the people who were at the Obelisk, the same security agencies that escorted us, they don’t allow us to go forward,” Argentine Football Federation president Chiqui Tapia wrote on Twitter. “A thousand apologies on behalf of all Champion players. A shame.
“We thank the province of Buenos Aires, led by its security minister Sergio Berni, who was the only one who accompanied the entire journey up to the entrance to the capital without registering any incident, allowing the players to embrace the Argentine people” .
Questions remain about how the vast number of disappointed fans will react to the apparent abandonment of the celebration, with millions stranded in the city centre. Riot police were later seen on the streets. Earlier, a fan told Telegraph Sport that he was planning on trying to get on the bus.
‘I’m about to jump off the bridge’: How Argentina’s homecoming plunged into chaos
The high temperatures had already taken their toll with many fans said to be dehydrated. The focal point had been the Obelisk, a giant tower in the middle of the city, and there were fears that angry fans could still turn violent.
The players had arrived in Buenos Aires in the early hours of Tuesday morning and were taken to an Argentine Football Federation compound near the airport. Even though it was after midnight, the 10-minute journey was said to have taken over an hour with fans already lining the streets.
Gabriela Cerruti, a spokesperson for Argentine president Alberto Fernandez, tweeted about the team taking off and called for calm in the party atmosphere.
“The world champions are flying over the entire course by helicopter as it has become impossible to continue on the ground due to the outburst of popular joy,” he wrote.
It was supposed to be the day that Argentinian fans finally got to see their heroes live. Instead, most of the five million Buenos Aires fans who got closest to Lionel Messi were looking up as his helicopter circled overhead.
For four hours, the open-top bus carrying Messi and his fellow World Cup winners crawled through the streets of the Argentine capital. Starting at the Argentine Football Federation compound near the city’s airport, the plan had been to drive to the Obelisk, a giant tower in the city center that had become the focal point of the festivities.
The bus didn’t make it. The hints that this was not going to be an ordinary celebration had been there from the start. In the early hours of Tuesday, the bus had taken more than an hour to make the 10-minute journey from the airport to the AFA headquarters.
After persistence, despite growing concerns about the size of the crowd, the dramatic decision was made to abandon the parade at 4pm, following strict advice from the local police.
Over the next few hours, fans had attempted to board the bus by jumping off bridges as the vehicle passed underneath.
A fan previously told Telegraph Sport: ‘I will jump off the bridge when I see the team.’ It wasn’t clear whether the man, wearing a Spiderman mask, was serious. Yet, he pointed to an atmosphere that could change in an instant. Police requests to stop the parade took the bus to Parque Roca, a park along the parade route that also houses a tennis stadium, where players were seen boarding helicopters.
With millions of fans stranded in the city centre, an afternoon of joy quickly threatened to turn into a tense evening. There were immediate calls for calm from the office of the president, Alberto Fernandes. “The world champions are flying over the entire course in a helicopter because it has become impossible to continue on the ground due to the explosion of popular joy,” tweeted Gabriela Cerruti, spokesperson for Fernandez.
As day turned to night, the millions of fans still in the city seemed to heed the warning with a potentially feverish atmosphere remaining calm. Thirty-one people had been injured falling off the road and at traffic lights after jostling for an vantage point.
Before the drive-by became a fly-by, the collective energy of the crowd had been chaotic but happy. “The team has done everything and the people are supporting them,” added the man in the Spiderman mask, also claiming to be a superfan of Julian Alvarez.
Earlier in the day, Gonzalo, 23, a gardener, tried to explain the feeling in the streets: “You always see them on TV,” he said of the team, “but now it’s like they’re gods coming down from the skies.” His friend, Salvador, 22, also a gardener, said, “They’re like gods from Mount Olympus.”
She then posed for a photo with a replica World Cup trophy and admitted she didn’t even know which way they’d have to walk to see the team, as the route has changed so many times. A few streets away, people had already begun tearing down pieces of fence to create shortcuts onto an overpass that was part of the originally planned route.
Fans swarmed both sides of the highway, standing between lane barriers, waving huge blue-and-white flags emblazoned with the Argentine sun. The sun was setting on the crowd below, marching on the asphalt in the humidity and 30 degree heat. Some had stood by the roadside for hours. “We’ve been here since 6 in the morning,” said the mother of a family of four from Avellaneda.
Further down the highway, Mauro, a 28-year-old garbage man, said the only way to get here from his home in San Martin was to ride his motorcycle. “From this side of Buenos Aires, it’s not possible to come here right now.” he says. “Motorcycle only”.
He came with his brother and a friend, who were drinking wine and orange juice with chunks of ice as they waited for the team in the middle of the highway. Even as people clambered over the overpass signs, the sound of drums filled the air and the roar of the occasional jet echoed the din of soccer chants celebrating Messi and Diego Maradona, families were reunited with children and the sentiments seemed hopeful to finally welcome the team they deserved.
Strangers helped mothers with babies in prams up ramps to the parade route, and many more people shared water with those who had come less than prepared. One stay-at-home mom, Madeline, 31, said: ‘I’m in a euphoric state. i want to go up [on to the overpass]. I want to see something.
When asked if she feared for her family’s safety today, she replied: “No, I’m sure we will be safe.” Prior to AFA President Chiqui Tapia’s announcement to announce the team’s evacuation, the sentiment in the streets was one of happiness, confusion and hope. Just before the parade, Danillo, 24, a prison employee with a bass drum strapped to his chest was ready to celebrate.
Of winning the World Cup, he said”[This is] a feeling no one will experience until they figure it out. We will have a party to celebrate with all the Argentines with the whole world… this Argentina Cup and the team. We’ll stay all night, party, party, party!” Danillo probably stuck to his word: bus or no bus.
