17/07/2013 00:00
TW
0
By Humphrey Carter

PALMA
WITHIN minutes of the final whistle, over 3'000 fans kicked off the celebrations in the Plaza de las Tortugas in front of C&A on Sunday night and, according to the Local Police, they were later joined by at least 15'000 people who partied into the early hours of yesterday morning.

Local Police across the island were well prepared for wild celebrations should Spain win the World Cup and the police closed off key roads in the centre of Palma to traffic in anticipation of thousands of people packing the Plaza Juan Carlos I, and, as is traditional, jumping into the fountain.

The police reported no incidents in Palma but the National Police riot squad did have to intervene on two occasions in Arenal to prevent clashes between a group of violent Dutch fans and celebrating Spaniards.

But, the main police operation was in Palma where apart from the 15'000 fans in Plaza Juan Carlos I, thousands of cars toured the city beeping their horns and flying Spanish flags and many continued throughout the day in the centre of the capital.

The euphoria on the streets of the capital was unbelievable and there were a few die hard stragglers still celebrating as dawn broke yesterday morning as people reluctantly got up and began getting ready to go to work. Police sources for Local Police forces across the island yesterday reported that there had been very few incidents of any importance during the World Cup.

In Calvia, England's early departure from the tournament meant that the Local Police's World Cup security plan was relatively short lived.
That said, police did not have to intervene during any of England's matches in Magalluf and Palmanova.

GERMANY
The police along the Playa de Palma also had an incident-free tournament despite Germany making it to the semifinal and getting knocked out by Spain.
The only time the police did have to act, and this time it was the National Police, was on Sunday in order to contain and calm a group of Dutch fans.
Sunday was also a good night for the bars and restaurants with thousands of people opting to watch the final with friends in their local bar instead of staying at home. At least Spain's World Cup winning run will have helped to have boosted bar and restaurant takings.