England captain Leah Williamson held back tears on stage as the Lionesses celebrated their Euro 2025 success with a victory parade in London.
Thousands of fans took to London to welcome the Lionesses after their penalty shootout win over Spain in the final on Sunday.
An open-top bus parade started at 12.10pm down The Mall, before a ceremony was held near the Queen Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace.
The players have been kept busy since arriving back in England at Southend Airport on Monday night.
They were welcomed to 10 Downing Street by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner on Monday, before players partied in London until the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Leah Williamson holds back tears during England victory parade ceremony
An emotional Leah Williamson spoke on stage after England celebrated their Euro 2025 success with a victory parade in London.
The Arsenal star was visibly emotional as she thanked the crowd for their support during the tournament.
Speaking to presenter Alex Scott, she said: “I’m holding back tears. I’ve been crying all down The Mall.
“This is unbelievable, this is probably one of the best [things] we have ever been a part of, so thank you for coming out.
“There are many ways to win a football match. And we repeatedly did it the hard way, but you can see how much we care about playing for England and how much we love it.”
England came from behind to win each of their three knockout phase games at Euro 2025.
UK betting websites have already given England 3/1 odds of winning the trophy for a third time at Euro 2029.
Williamson credited England’s never-say-die attitude to their success at the tournament in Switzerland.
She continued: “We came together, we came close. The first game (a 2-1 loss to France) maybe rocked us a little bit but I think they’re just special people and we love each other on and off the pitch.
“We’ve had tough moments, some nasty things to deal with and still we rise.”
"This is one of the best things we've ever been a part of."
An emotional England captain Leah Williamson tells fans what it means to her – and the team – to win the #WEuro2025. #BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/k6U7TyXWde
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 29, 2025
What happened during England’s trophy parade?
The open-top bus procession carried the England team down The Mall, with England players seen raising the trophy in front of the thousands of cheering fans in attendance.
They were then welcomed on stage at a ceremony outside Buckingham Palace where a number of players and manager Sarina Wiegman spoke to those in attendance.
The players and manager were in high spirits, with Wiegman seen dancing with Burna Boy as the Nigerian singer performed on stage.
Chloe Kelly who scored the winning penalty for England, forced Alex Scott to give an apology after she swore on stage.
The music…
The Lionesses…
The Euro 2025 trophy…A perfect day in London. ❤️#BBCFootball #WEuro2025 pic.twitter.com/WIaYgyMSDg
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 29, 2025
The Arsenal star in her appearance on stage said: “It’s so good to stand side-by-side with every single one of these girls throughout the whole tournament, and the staff you don’t see behind the scenes. It’s incredible.
“Thank you to everyone that got out to support us, whether that’s in Switzerland or here today. It’s so f***ing good.”
After players spoke on stage, Williamson lifted the Euro 2025 trophy in front of the thousands of England fans in attendance.
Who was absent from England’s celebrations in London?
The only player missing from the England victory parade was defender Jess Carter, who played in the final.
Carter was asked to return to the United States as her Gotham FC side have a game this weekend.
Esme Morgan and Anna Moorhouse, who also play in the United States, were allowed to attend the victory parade.
