NEWCASTLE have celebrated ending 70 years of hurt in epic style – with the help of some familiar faces.
Geordie icons Ant and Dec led the celebrations as thousands of Toon fans lined the streets for a parade following last week’s Carabao Cup success.
Eddie Howe‘s men won their first domestic silverware since 1955 after seeing off Liverpool at Wembley.
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Goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Iska secured a historic 2-1 win and ended the Toon’s seven-decade trophy drought.
Fans hit the streets in both London and Newcastle in the hours after the match.
Tens of thousands more joined a huge bus parade on Saturday afternoon to celebrate the win.
TV stars Ant and Dec were spotted almost in tears at the Home of Football during the triumph a fortnight ago.
And the emotional pair were on the edge again as the Toon Army packed out the city centre.
They bagged prime seats for the parade, joining the players on two open-top buses.
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Ant was heard screaming after seeing the crowds: “Look at that! This is absolute brilliant chaos.
“We’ve got flares at the back of the bus, lads and lasses!”
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”‘I wish he would have hung on for one more year’ Alan Shearer chokes up in tribute to his dad at Newcastle parade” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6370755971112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Addressing his sidekick Dec, he added: “Big question is though, are we going to cry like we did at Wembley on the day they won?”
The pair replied in unison: “Probably!”
A huge poster of Howe was unveiled outside St James’ Park just moments before the buses left to begin their route, hanging from a nearby building.
Fans let off flares and waved massive flags, with chants of “Shearer, Shearer!” heard outside the ground.
[authenticated-scripts src=”%3Cscript%20class%3D%22palin-poll%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fpollingwidgets%2Fv3%2Fwidget.js%3Fquestion_id%3D110764%26game%3Dpolling%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E” type=”embedded” width=”100″ /]The crowd were treated to a full match replay of the final ahead of the parade.
And Newcastle players took to the stage to speak to supporters once the buses completed their one-mile route.
Ant and Dec took turns to interview the players, who were noticeably moved by the size of the crowds.
Jacob Murphy gasped: “It’s unbelievable. Oh my God!
“There are not too many words to describe this. It’s amazing!”
Boss Howe added: “Wow. This is just incredible.
[quote credit=”Ant McPartlin” credit-meta=”Sky Sports”]I feel like a competition winner![/quote]“There’s people hanging from lamp posts and standing on bus stops.
“But we knew the people of Newcastle would come out and support us.
“Thanks to you both [Ant and Dec] for being a part of it, too.”
Ant replied: “I feel like a competition winner!”
Focusing on Newcastle’s lengthy wait for a trophy, Howe continued: “Part of your brain hopes that one day you might win something, but at the time we were in a relegation battle.
“This is beyond what we thought we could do.
“There is no other city like this one for football.”
Toon legend Shearer was visibly emotional as he was invited up to address the adoring locals.
Paying tribute to his dad Alan, who died aged 80 last year, the ex-England striker began to well up.
He said: “Yeah, unfortunately, my dad passed away last May.
“He was lucky enough to be at the final in ’69.
“I just wish he could have hung on for one more year just to see and sample this.
“But he would have been watching on and would’ve been as proud as I was.”
Newcastle’s players were in the mood to party – and couldn’t resist a dig at neighbours Sunderland in the process.
Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes led the crowd in a chant for teammate Sandro Tonali.
In the X-rated song, supporters sing that the Italian “hates f***ing Sunderland”.
Bruno took the mic and belted out the song, with his laughing teammates bouncing around behind him.
After Newcastle’s historic triumph at the Home of Football, the 27-year-old called it among the “best days” of his life.
A tearful Bruno said: “I wanted to put my name in the club’s history. We can now say we are the champions again.
“It is one of the best days of my life. I don’t have any words. They [the fans] deserve it.
“People have grown up and not seen Newcastle as champions, I am so happy. This is one of the best days. We deserve this. It is unbelievable.
“This is my second home. Relegation, Champions League and now champions. I am so emotional today.”
