Our train – one of many to arrive that day – shows up at the station and a sea of orange becomes a drop in the ocean of supporters already in Basel.

I was in Basel (Switzerland) yesterday to watch the Netherlands v Russia game with a few (mostly dutch) companions.

Apparently there were over 120,000 dutch supporters who descended upon Basel simply to support their team.

The Netherlands lost the game, but all my pictures were taken before the match, and the city was completely awash with orange (the national colour of the Netherlands). There wasn’t a single Russian supporter to be seen.

More photos after the jump.

At one point during the match there were three people cheering for Russia amid an entire square full of dutchmen, but it turned out they were all Germans.

Most people were already extremely drunk by the time I arrived at midday. Unfortunately for me the city was literally so packed full of people that it was bloody difficult to even get a beer, despite the many vendors.

In any case, it was wild – I’ve never witnessed such concentrated nationalism and excitement… and drunkenness. And the noise was incredible. It was like a statewide contest to make the loudest most annoying sounds by any means possible. And they gave it socks.

Above: The crowds in Basel, captured by some youtuber.

One of my companions unknowingly creates a character reminiscent of a childhood boogeyman of my nightmares

The message is in German, despite the dutch flag, because the game took place in a german language territory

Slightly tipsy gentleman, curious to see what it’s like on top of a busstop signpost.

People were bathing in public water fountains. It was a warm day – if I were completley rat-arsed it would seem like a clever idea too.

A sight barely to be seen yesterday: A dutch football fan taking it easy. This relaxed scene was definitely not typical – the whole town was wild except for this tranquil spot.

Outnumbered police officers thinking “if they try to do something naughty, we should probably just step out of their way”.

For two young fans the hupla was apparently a bit too much to handle. Although I found it all very exciting I could sympathise a bit – I hadn’t had much sleep, and there was no escaping the thundering drumrolls, shouting drunkards, squealing airhorns and numerous other sources of noise.

Above are some of my favourite shots, but there are some more here on flickr. Also go to that link to see any of these bigger.