They had waited for this moment — 30 years to the day for another leading tournament, for ever to be invited to a European Championship, They were hoarse by the time they approached the Allianz Riviera, but that did not stop them. For a few minutes, the noise abated. Northern Ireland’s supporters had been singing all day, their bass chorus reverberating along the Promenade des Anglais, echoing around Nice’s pastel-shaded old town, booming out of the sputtering school buses that carried them past the airport, its tarmac cluttered with the Learjets of the clientele that visits this city rather more often.

Source: The Times June 12, 2016 21:22 UTC