9 Feb 2018

Streets of Philadelphia overflow with Eagles fans

11:00 am on 9 February 2018

Hundreds of thousands of fans of the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday welcomed home their Super Bowl-winning team with a massive parade and celebrations that filled the city's streets.

Fans began gathering before sunrise on Thursday along the nearly eight-kilometre parade route through the north-eastern US city.

Philadelphia Eagles fans celebrate.

Philadelphia Eagles fans celebrate. Photo: Photosport

Many were dressed in the team's green and white colours to show their affection for their team - the first from Philadelphia to win American football's championship game.

The team's stars rode through the streets on an open-top bus that was showered in confetti along the way. At the end they were welcomed at a ceremony on the "Rocky" steps in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art made famous in the movie series starring Sylvester Stallone.

The festivities included a squad of cheerleaders dancing and shaking green and white pompoms, a fly-over by military jets and the crowd singing the team song "Fly, Eagles, Fly."

As the ceremony closed the team and crowd sang "We Are the Champions" together.

The underdog Eagles toppled the New England Patriots 41-33 at the season-ending spectacle in Minneapolis. Head coach Doug Pederson and quarterback Nick Foles were hailed as heroes bringing the trophy home to Philadelphia for the first time.

Emotional fans were seen cheering wildly, dancing and crying in livestream broadcasts of the event. US media estimated the size of the crowd at more than one million.

-AAP