City Park witnessed an amazing outpouring of emotion yesterday evening as thousands upon thousands of people gathered to cheer on the triumphant footballing heroes of Bradford City.

The unprecedented scenes symbolised everything that is special about our city as culture, race, politics and religion were all forgotten in a sea of claret and amber. It was an uplifting demonstration of the unifying power of sport.

For those who were there, the amazing images will live long in their memory.

The celebrations were all the sweeter coming on a day that manager Phil Parkinson finally put pen to paper on a contract to stay with the club he guided to Wembley twice in one season.

And if that wasn’t sign enough that the day was special, the clouds cleared at about 5pm and the victory parade was bathed in glorious sunshine!

For a club that has had more than its fair share of grief and trauma, yesterday was an opportunity to come together in joy, relief, triumph, and elation.

There is no doubt that the support City has is deserving of a club gracing a higher stage.

Yesterday may be looked back on as the end of the beginning of the turnaround in the club’s footballing fortunes.

It was certainly an opportunity for the fans to say Thank You for the fantastic feast of entertainment they have had this season.

With Parkinson and his squad of heroes, the backing of true fans like Mark Lawn and Julian Rhodes, and the club’s fantastic supporters, the future for Bradford City is suddenly starting to look a lot more exciting.