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| People wave flags as they celebrate Britain leaving the EU on Brexit day in London, Britain, January 31, 2020. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls |
Singing patriotic songs and waving Union Jacks, thousands of Britons flocked to a muddy patch of grass outside parliament on a damp Friday night to toast their moment of history: Britainโs departure from the European Union.
Britainโs exit from the EU ends 47 years of union with Europe. It also draws a line under a bitter and divisive wrangle over whether, when and how the country should cut its ties to the bloc.
While Prime Minister Boris Johnson kept a low profile at a private reception in his Downing Street office, more than 5,000 people gathered just down the road to loudly celebrate the moment.
The crowd erupted into cheers as the clock hit 11 p.m. (2300 GMT), the moment of Britainโs exit. After a barrage of fireworks, smoke filled the area as onlookers hugged, popped champagne corks and filmed the moment on their phones.
โThis is a fantastic day, a really really fantastic day. Itโs been a long time coming,โ said Tony Williams, 53, from south-east London.
โWe are free, from 11 oโclock, we have done it, and it is a great, great pleasure. We have done it.โ
Brexit supporters young and old packed into Parliament Square to hear Brexitโs other talisman, campaigner Nigel Farage, and revel in a mix of nostalgia, patriotism and defiance.
โWe did it. We transformed the landscape of our country,โ Farage told the crowd. โWe are celebrating tonight because we know that this is the single most important moment in the modern history of our great nation โฆ The fact is that the war is over, we have won.โ
A video montage providing a potted history of Britainโs relationship with Europe drew pantomime boos for proponents of the EU like former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, while anti-EU figures like Johnson, Farage and Margaret Thatcher were loudly cheered.
โI never thought it would happen โ my goodness! Iโm not going to get drunk or anything but itโs a remarkable thing to happen given that the whole establishment of this country was in favour of the European project,โ said Christopher Cook, 73, business owner from Amersham, near London.
Attendees sang Land of Hope and Glory, with words projected on a big screen, there were impromptu bursts of the national anthem โGod Save the Queenโ, and a band performed โRule Britanniaโ โ a centuries-old song celebrating Britainโs one-time naval dominance.
The crowd spilled into surrounding streets, where many defied a ban on alcohol despite a heavy police presence. Two men wearing Farage masks said the number of officers was oppressive and threatened to spoil a good night.
However, as the clock ticked down on a decision that has torn at the constitution and divided the nation from cabinet table to family dinner table, there was no visible counter-protest from the millions who voted to remain in the EU.
Some self-professed โremainersโ had come along to witness the moment for themselves.
โItโs quite a dark day for me personally but of course Iโm here to celebrate,โ joked David Robinson, a 38-year-old finance worker, clutching a can of lager.
โI couldnโt not turn up. When the Berlin wall was coming down, you couldnโt just go home and have a cup of tea.โ
REUTERS
