Shouts, cheers and fireworks in many US cities over Biden victory
People celebrate on Black Lives Matter plaza across from the White House in Washington on Saturday. AFP
Minutes after major television networks declared Joe Biden the winner following four nail-biting days since the Nov.3 election, supporters banged pots, honked their car horns and set off fireworks across the US cities in exuberant celebration.
In the capital, the sound of car horns filled the streets, with hundreds gathering downtown — whooping, laughing and clapping, in Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House.
Across the city, people came out onto porches, toasting the Biden victory with champagne and tequila, many of them glued to their phones as they shared the news.
In the New York borough of Brooklyn, cars honked and people pumped their fist and cheered on the street.
"The nightmare is over," said Andrew Ravin, 45, while his neighbour Kenneth Henry, 51, said, "We can breathe again."
Emmi Braselton, 37, a freelance graphic designer of Atlanta, was walking her two-year-old daughter Sylvie, who asked "What's all that Mommy?," Braselton said.
"I told her, the good guy won. And also, now there'll be a woman as vice president. And she told me, 'I want to be president.'"
In nearby Dupont Circle, several hundred people formed a parade, playing music, singing and dancing and marched towards the White House to the sound of honking horns and clanging cowbells.
Loud cheers erupted in the halls of the hotel where Biden aides are staying. "Worth every minute," of the wait, a Biden aide said. Campaign staff exchanged elbow bumps and air hugs in the hotel lobby.
