Ecstatic Wales fans go absolutely wild after historic Euro 2016 win puts them in the semis
The Dragons supporters party through the night in Wales, France and even Belgium
WALES fans partied long and hard after their side's shock Euro 2016 win - with scenes of pure ecstasy in France, Wales and even Belgium.
Hundreds of thousands of fans went absolutely wild after Bale and the boyos beat one of the tournament favourites to clinch an historic place in the semi-finals.
Fans went wild after substitute Sam Vokes put the game beyond reach for Belgium - the team ranked second in the world - putting Wales through to the final four.
The goal sparked frantic celebrations in the special fan zone in Cardiff where many Welsh fans just couldn't believe what they were seeing.
As the final whistle blew, the streets of Wales were filled with gobsmacked supporters singing songs praising their team's heroics.
It was all a far cry from the shock England fans felt after Roy's boys flopped against tournament minnows Iceland.
Thousands of Welsh fans in Lille partied into the early hours of Saturday - as did people right across the Land of My Fathers.
Town and city streets from north to south Wales, and everywhere in between, were turned into a sea of red as joyous fans sang hymns and arias into the small hours. And as the clean-up operation began on
Saturday morning, Welsh fans were still in buoyant mood.
Oscar winning actress Catherine Zeta Jones showed off the victory to her 200,000 followers on Instagram by posting a photo of herself with the Welsh flag along with the caption "Cymru am byth" (Wales forever).
Zeta Jones, who was born and raised in Swansea, was one of scores of people who congratulated the team on social media.
Rockers Manic Street Preachers, whose Together Stronger (C'mon Wales) is the official Euro 2016 song for the national side, were among them. Bass player Nicky Wire tweeted: "I haven't touched alcohol in six years very tempted ... best crack open the Ribena then."
Wales legend Cliff Jones - one of the few surviving members of Wales's 1958 World Cup squad - said he slept in his Welsh shirt last night "like thousands of others".
He added: "A proud Welshman today."
First Minister and Welsh Labour leader Carwyn Jones went liberal with the exclamation marks on his official Twitter page writing: "Incredible!!! Magnificent!!! Historic!"
Welsh football pundit and former player Robbie Savage posted on Twitter: "I cannot believe it amazing fantastic outstanding incredible and a team - Wales semi finals xx"
Comedian Rob Brydon wrote: "So proud of those boys. So proud to be Welsh. Just incredible. #WALBEL"
Singer Katherine Jenkins posted: "Yesssssssss!!!! Massive Congrats to Wales! Fantastic result... #oggioggioggi #Euro2016 #Wales #Wal"
BBC journalist Sian Williams said: "A ray of sunshine after an omni-shamble week. Well done #WAL- you have given everyone a smile with your extraordinary performances #WALBEL"
Singer and TV presenter Aled Jones wrote on Twitter: "Dwi'n caru Cymru!!! I Love Wales!! What a result - brilliant!!!! #EURO2016"
Messages of congratulations also came in from across the River Severn and throughout Europe.
Comedian and England fan David Baddiel tweeted: "Just phoned my dad. Through his dementia his excitement shone through. Thank you this glorious Welsh team."
On social media, Welsh celebrities including opera singer Katherine Jenkins toasted the wonderful Welsh win.
Related Stories
The Welsh FA Twitter feed featured the message: "The most famous night in Welsh football history. We are into the semi-finals!!!!!"
Wales will face Portugal in Lyon on Wednesday, knowing they are only 90 minutes away from a spot in the final in Paris.
Many fans in France now face the big question 'do they go back to the Valleys or stay and support their team?'
The Welsh fans in the Lille fan zone was far outnumbered by their Belgian counterparts - with the border lying around 10 miles away.
Wales fans chanted "Don't take me home, please don't take me home", as well as songs about Hal Robson-Kanu and Gareth Bale.
Other chants including "Are you watching England?" were also heard.
Paula Hart, 41, from Swansea, said: "It's just been immense. The Belgian fans have been the best, so fair play to them. I'm now thinking about the final.
"Portugal haven't been great so why not start thinking about it?"
Neil Davies, 49, from South Wales, said Wales had played "brilliantly" and he had tears in his eyes at full time.
He said: "I thought if Belgium went 1-0 up then that would be it. They did and I thought that's us done. To come back the way we did - unbelievable."
"I'm just waiting for someone to pinch us, shake us, wake us up from the dream," said Barry Jones, 46, of Aberystwyth.
"With Leicester winning the Premier League, it's the underdogs' year and I think we've got it, I really do.
"The first 10 minutes last night was very dicey. I thought 'oh God, they're going to kick our arses' but we just battled on and every chance, we put it away."
It's such a team performance. Everyone said Wales are a one-man team. We're not, there is no I in team
Keith Jones, Wales fan
Keith Jones, 61, from Ammanford, said: "It's such a team performance. Everyone said Wales are a one-man team. We're not, there is no I in team."
The side had been in the relative wilderness for 58 years - with their last appearance at a major football championship coming in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.
Then, a Pele goal for Brazil in the quarter final ended the Welsh campaign.
But now Wales fans are gearing up for a semi-final match that even the most optimistic supporters were not expecting when the tournament kicked off nearly a month ago.
Wales fan Nye Lewis, nine, from London, said: "I'm just happy because Wales won - they're just playing as a team.
"Hopefully Wales will win again and we'll get to the final."
The odds on Wales winning Euro 2016 have been slashed to just 6/1 with some bookmakers after they dismantled Belgium in Lille.
Having started the tournament rank outsiders at 80/1, bookmakers have continued to cut the numbers as they head towards the latter stages.
Others promptly took to social media to praise the Dragons.
One Direction star Niall Horan tweeted: "Delighted for Wales. What a hearty performance. Credit to Chris Coleman for setting those boys up well, they knew what they were doing."
England legend Gary Lineker tweeted simply: "Well played Wales. Well played.";
To make things worse for the crestfallen Belgians, many Welsh fans were staying in their country just 10 miles away.
So impromptu parties were also held in pubs Bruges and elsewhere as the Dragons supporters headed back to their hotels....but not to sleep.
As one fan put it: "It's been the best night of my life...just don't tell the wife. I don't want to back home but if I don't she'll divorce me."