Colombian fans were out in force in Vancouver on Tuesday for their team’s World Cup showdown with Switzerland in the group of 16. Fans cheered as the Colombian team left their Vancouver hotel, while others marched and sang their way to BC Place Stadium.<\/p>\n
The Canadian Press<\/p>\n
Columbia fans have turned Vancouver\u2019s streets into a sea of yellow, red and blue, as BC Place Stadium hosts its seventh and final World Cup match today.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re giving a final hurrah in Canada for an event that has galvanized diaspora communities and drew hundreds of thousands of fans from across the country and the globe.<\/p>\n
The round-of-16 match that\u2019s now under way between Switzerland and Colombia comes less than four weeks since Vancouver got its first taste of the world\u2019s biggest sporting event, when Australia fans swamped the downtown core for a match against Turkey.<\/p>\n
Since then, the city has been swept up in World Cup euphoria, with Canadian fans staging two huge marches to the stadium and crowds flooding Granville Street on game days.<\/p>\n
The FIFA Fan Festival in East Vancouver also emerged as one of the best places in Canada to watch the action outside a stadium, heaving with the energy of fans who have turned the PNE amphitheatre into a mosh pit for big games.<\/p>\n
Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n Colombia fans march ahead of a World Cup Round of 16 soccer match against Switzerland, in Vancouver, on Tuesday.ETHAN CAIRNS\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n Switzerland fans have meanwhile made Vancouver their de facto home base as a result of their team\u2019s three consecutive matches at BC Place.<\/p>\n But they were greatly outnumbered, both on the streets and in the stadium, where the Colombian anthem became an ear-splitting sing-along. <\/p>\n Colombia beats Ghana to set up Switzerland showdown<\/a><\/p>\n World Cup volunteers were among those reflecting on today\u2019s last match at BC Place, including Javiera Uribe, who was directing people outside the stadium. <\/p>\n She said she was sad Vancouver\u2019s role in the tournament was coming to an end \u201cbut obviously nothing lasts forever.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m just like taking advantage of the moment and enjoying everything,\u201d said the Vancouver resident.<\/p>\n She said her favourite memory was the way different countries\u2019 supporters would come together to celebrate on Granville Street in the downtown core.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they play in the morning and one team wins, and then in the evening another team wins, and in Granville, everyone gets together, everyone\u2019s celebrating, just sharing the cultures between everyone. I think that\u2019s the most memorable part here.\u201d<\/p>\n Fellow volunteer Fahim Mahfuz was in BC Place Stadium for all seven of its matches. He said being pitch-side for the first match between Turkey and Australia was a \u201csurreal experience,\u201d with an Australia player kicking a ball to him.<\/p>\n