Tens of thousands of exultant flag-waving ice hockey fans thronged the streets of the capital to welcome home Finland’s new world champions.

Finland’s team, the Lions, beat Sweden 6-1 in the final on Sunday in Bratislava, Slovakia, to claim the Nordic country’s second world championship title.

All-night revellers filled city streets nationwide after the squad, now dubbed the “Golden Lions,” beat their fierce rivals in a repeat of its first world victory in 1995.

The team flew to Finland, escorted by a Finnish Air Force Hornet F-18 jet, and made its way to the central market square where tumultuous roars greeted them as the players stepped off an open-air bus.

Finland President Tarja Halonen, who usually attends Finland’s international games but didn’t make the final, joined the players on the outdoor stage.

Hockey fans joined Finnish pop and rock artists in nationalist songs as helicopters buzzed overhead in the carnival-like festivities that were broadcast live on nationwide television and radio. Police estimated crowds of up to 100,000 in Helsinki.

The world championship – after a break of 16 years – was the country’s top news. A record 2.4 million TV viewers watched the final, almost half the country’s five million population.