Hull City reporter Barry Cooper joined the club on their parade
As the players and their families gathered inside the Kingston Suite at Hull City‘s MKM Stadium, they sat blissfully unaware of the crowds that were gathering outside and across the city of Hull, ready to cheer Saturday’s dramatic, historic, memorable Championship play-off final win over Middlesbrough.
Roared on by the hundreds that had made their way to the Premier League’s newest Stadium, Sergej Jakirovic’s players and owner Acun Ilicali clambered aboard an open-top bus, covered in tiger print and adorned with the words ‘We are Premier League’ – words few can still believe they’re reading.
As the two buses, one with players and the other with Jakirovic, his coaching staff, the medical team and other crucial members of the support team, left the MKM Stadium, there were fans everywhere, trying to get a glimpse of their heroes. Heading away from the hospital, there were young children and older ones alike, saluting as the bus swept towards the A63 and down towards Ferensway before heading to the outskirts of the city.
It may have been the hottest May day ever recorded, but that didn’t quell the excitement or the desire to cheer the Tigers from any possible vantage point. Traffic was stopped, and people got out of their cars, and horns beeped. Fans of all ages, wearing shirts from different eras, keen to make themselves heard.
On street corners from Beverley Road to Freetown Way, fans lined the streets, waving their flags, happy faces everywhere. Beers were swilled, and as Matt Crooks would have predicted, off came Oli McBurnie’s shirt. City’s security staff were concerned about Akintola, Famewo, Drameh and Giles falling off the back of the bus, while the play-off final trophy led a charmed life, but managed to come through unscathed.
Keen to look after his talismanic forward, who bagged the winning goal at Wembley, Jakirovic Facetimed Regan Slater to urge McBurnie to cover up. It was another moment of unbridled comedy that Jakirovic has become known for as the season has worn on, and there were plenty more throughout the two-hour journey. We saw fans breakdancing in the streets and dogs waving. It was one of those days.
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Marko Salatovic, with his nine bookings and three reds this season, was the biggest cheerleader on the bus, revelling in the moment, and taking the adulation of thousands of fans. Even catching an amber flare launched by bystanders. More beers were brought on board at one point as the buses stopped by Drypool Bridge.
Kit man Jonny Wallis was in charge of the songs, regularly breaking into ‘Jakirovic’s Barmy Army’ and McBurnie’s in your head chant to the tune of the Cranberries’ classic, Zombie, the crowds joining in.
Spririts were high. And as the bus turned into Paragon Street, the roars were as loud as they’d been, and off they went into City Hall, given a heroes welcome, before heading out onto the balcony in front of 40,000 fans.
McBurnie, Coyle, Crooks – terrible singer by the way – all had their moments, as did Acun Ilicali and Jakirovic, before the party started to wind down with Adele’s hit record, Someone Like You, which has become something of an adopted anthem in recent weeks.
For those players and supporters, May 25, 2026, was another day for the ages. For those who were not at Wembley, this will live long in the memory. For those who were, the party continued.
Hull City have done their city proud this season, returning the club to the Premier League, against all the odds, and in the sunshine, the city returned the favour. The team and its people, as one, celebrating a success that will be talked about in this city for years to come. It’s a time that will spark a whole new generation of City fans into life, and they’ll all remember this moment.
It’s a day few will ever forget, and there have been a few in the past month, and Hull folk can expect a few more to come as the realisation of their achievement begins to dawn. The Premier League party is just beginning.
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