A wave of red, black and yellow swept through CineVita in Inglewood on Friday, as thousands of Belgian fans gathered ahead of the match against Spain to cheer on their team.

The Europeans chose the right place, as CineVita is the largest Belgian “Spiegeltent” -type tent in the world, handmade in Belgium by the Klessens family. Beginning at 9 a.m., every corner of the 15,000 square feet of space was covered with fans shouting, dancing and celebrating their love of soccer and, of course, their team that a couple of hours later would face Spain at the Los Angeles Stadium for passage to the World Cup semifinals.

Fans traveled from far away to attend the game, some of them confessing that it was their first time visiting Los Angeles.

Travel to the World Cup with your car

Among the crowd of fans was Adam El Manawy and his car “The Beast”, both travelled from Belgium to Los Angeles to watch the quarter-final match against Spain. The trip is just one of many stops Manawy has made at this World Cup and he says this is the fourth World Cup he has attended and the second time he has travelled with his car.

“I crossed the Atlantic, brought my car from Belgium to Baltimore and then drove to Seattle to watch Belgium's first match against Egypt, and now I'm here in Los Angeles,” said Manawy, who is documenting his journey on social media. “I want this car to be part of the World Cup universe and to become a tradition to bring it for fans like me to take pictures with.”

For him, his car, a BMW coupe from the 80s, is his baby; he has it decorated in the colors of his country and wears a jean in the colors of his flag. He explains that traveling with “The Beast” has helped him connect with many people outside of his culture every time he goes to a new game.

He revealed that the car travels by boat and he reaches it by plane.

“It's about creating connections; for me, football is that: meeting new people, having fun and supporting each other; it's more than just a sport,” he added.

Oliver, whose face was painted red and with horns coming out of his head, a tribute to his team, known as the Red Devils of Belgium, also traveled from Belgium to Los Angeles. Yesterday he took the opportunity to take pictures with many fans and joined the batons when the audience started shouting. She said it's her first time in Los Angeles, but she's loved hanging out with all the people she's met.

“Being here with all these people is a feeling that has to be lived because it cannot be explained; all I know is that we are all happy to be here and, no matter what the scoreboard is, we are going to have a good time,” Oliver said.

A goal for Stella

The football party brought together people of different ages and even mascots that also wore the colors red, black and yellow. Some people, like Oliver, had their faces painted and others wore costumes or banners with different phrases.

One sign that attracted attention was that of a married couple who had a banner that said "we are sorry, we miss you, but we are having fun", with a photo of their children, other messages were even more personal.

Like Sophie Rockele and her family, who were holding a sheet with the phrase "One more goal for Stella".“Stella is a cancer fighter, she was 16 years old and passed away two weeks ago,” Rockele said. "She was from Belgium and was the brightest star in her country, so we decided to bring her with us and we hope they score a goal in her honour."

“She is not with us in flesh and blood, but she is with us in spirit; she would have been fascinated to be here; she loved all this,” he added.

Mexico present

Although the place was full of Belgian T-shirts, some green touches stood out from the crowd. Signs of Los Angeles' Latino community, sporting their Mexican T-shirts and hats, as they waved the Belgian flag aloft and cheered Europeans on.

It was undoubtedly a surprise for the Belgians, but it was a support they received with open arms. One of them was José Jorge Navarro, who attended the event alone, but spent time with Oliver and other fans during the pre-match celebration.

“I'm very happy, very happy,” Navarro said before jumping in with a group of fans. "These parties are very beautiful; they show how football unites us, unites us with strangers; after today, I can say that I have friends from Belgium."

Although Mexico is already out of the World Cup, many fans have turned their attention and their truncheons to other teams that are still competing to win the cup.

"It's incredible to see the union: the Mexicans with those of Belgium and all for the love of football," said Marco Méndez, who came from Mexicali, Baja California, for his first World Cup. “I feel there is no rivalry or anger between us, as seen when people argue on social media; here we all enjoy each other's company and have a good time. It's beautiful.”

The event at CineVita ended with thousands of fans marching to the stadium to watch the match. With drums, they shouted and threw truncheons that could be heard along the street. In the end, Belgium lost 1-2 against Spain, but for many of those who attended the match, the most important thing was not so much the result, but living the experience of attending the World Cup.

“Thank you, Los Angeles, you are such a beautiful place; we enjoyed your beaches, but more than anything, we enjoyed the people, who were so kind to us,” Oliver said.

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