There are some practical reasons behind it – Arsenal were not allowed to lift the Premier League trophy at the parade, and a decision has been made.
Arsenal fans won’t get to see the team lift the Premier League trophy in the usual big celebration, even though the club ended a 22-year wait to win the English top league. The Gunners were named champions for the 14th time last week after Manchester City couldn’t beat Bournemouth on Tuesday.
The players celebrated at their London Colney training ground, watching the game together. Then, Martin Odegaard joined club legends Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira by lifting the trophy at Selhurst Park following their 2-0 win on Sunday. The team changed into their classic red and white home kit for the trophy lift in front of their traveling fans.
Thousands of supporters gathered at the Emirates Stadium to celebrate on the May Bank Holiday. Arsenal has already announced a big trophy parade will take place on Sunday, May 31st, no matter the outcome of their upcoming European final against Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest.
However, new details about the parade have come out, and it looks like there won’t be a big trophy lift at the end. The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust (AST) says the parade will cover a 9km route with an expected crowd of 500,000 to one million people based on police and club estimates. Because of the huge crowd and road closures starting early at 4 am, officials decided not to hold a trophy lift or town hall event at the parade’s end.
This decision was made for safety reasons, to keep the crowd spread out instead of all in one place. Instead, Mikel Arteta’s squad will lift the trophies along the parade route. The event will also celebrate the women’s team and their FIFA Women’s Champions Cup win. The parade starts at 2 pm and will last for hours, with fans asked not to return to the Emirates after the event. The stadium and nearby areas will be closed to the public, including Drayton Park.
The AST explained the choice, saying: “With 500,000 to 1 million people expected, it’s impossible to fit everyone around the stadium. Wembley holds 90,000, and Glastonbury has 180,000, so this is a much bigger crowd.”
Four open-top buses will travel through north London, with music from Ezra Collective’s Femi Koleoso and DJ Sammy Virji. Some fans might miss the parade because they won’t make it back from Budapest in time.
The parade was planned for a Sunday because local councils wouldn’t support closing roads and causing disruption on a working weekday.