Tens of thousands of German football fans are giving a hero’s welcome to the World Cup-winning team in Berlin.
The main celebrations were at the Brandenburg Gate, where players displayed the cup on a large stage while performing an impromptu dance.
Many had gathered since dawn to welcome the players who touched down from Brazil on Tuesday morning. Huge crowds lined their bus route into the capital.
It was the fourth German cup win and the first since reunification in 1990.
The team’s 1-0 victory over Argentina in Sunday’s final sparked delirious scenes across Germany. which are culminating in Tuesday’s celebrations in central Berlin.
The team arrived in an open-top bus emblazoned with the years they have won the competition – 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014.
The BBC’s Lucy Hockings in Berlin says there was a carnival atmosphere in the city, with thousands taking the day off to witness the spectacle even though Tuesday is not officially a holiday.
Speaking on the stage near the Brandenburg Gate, coach Joachim Loew paid tribute to his team and the German people for their part in its victory.
“For our sakes the fans suffered with us. They were nervous with us. In the end they cheered with us. Without you we would not be here,” he said.
Mario Goetze, the man who scored the winning goal on Sunday, said the experience of winning the cup was “dreamlike”.
The winning team’s Boeing 747 landed at Tegel airport after flying a lap of honour over the “fan mile” in front of the landmark Brandenburg GateEarlier fans gathered on a viewing stage at Tegel airport to witness the arrival of the plane, a Lufthansa jet rebranded “Fanhansa” for the team.
“This is a historic event,” 34-year-old supporter Bernd Hesse told AFP news agency.
He said that fans of the team had waited 24 years for a German World Cup victory.
Demand for replica World Cup shirts – especially those with four stars on to mark the country’s fourth title – has reached an all-time high
The cup win has been celebrated by a wide cross-section of German society, especially younger people who have been out on the streets in force to celebrateThose members of the team that play for Bayern Munich will also get a separate welcome parade in Munich later.
Commercial opportunities were maximised, our correspondent says.
The German victory in Brazil was the first time the competition had been won in South America by a European nation.