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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Ben James

A stadium full of 15,000 Japanese people just belted out the Welsh national anthem and it was simply beautiful

This is the incredible moment a stadium full of 15,000 Japanese locals sang the Welsh national anthem.

The city of Kitakyushu has provided a remarkable welcome to Warren Gatland's men since their arrival, and Wales' open training session on Mondaywas no different - with queues to get into Mikuni Stadium stretching up to around a kilometre in length.

Yet the support shown by the residents of the Yushu Island city reached an all new level when the Welsh national anthem was played before the session, and the fans inside the stadium sang along to Hen Wlad fy Nhadau.

The locals had been encouraged to turn up and sing at the open training session, with an initiative last week inviting as many people as possible to learn the anthem - along with Calon Lan.

With the city missing out on hosting a World Cup match, they have thrown their full support behind Wales - with Gatland's side spending six days there on a pre-World Cup training camp before their opening fixture against Georgia on Monday, September 23.

The city has been transformed into a sea of red, with public transport, signs and even the airport adorned with support for Wales as part of an engagement programme set up by the Welsh Rugby Union.

Wales branding can be found on fire engines, postal vans and buses, while  videos have emerged of locals parading  through the streets wearing red and chanting their support for Wales.

In return, union officials have been putting on coaching hubs in the city, with former Wales internationals Ryan Jones and Rhys Wiliams coaching locals.

The Welsh team are holding a two-hour training session, during which they are also expected to meet and greet some of the fans in attendance. You can  follow it live here.

On the theme of singing, the Wales team choir will then perform Calon Lan and Lawr ar Lan y Môr at their official welcoming ceremony later today (around 11.30am UK time).

The squad, who have a tradition of singing at tournaments under Gatland, have been practicing for weeks, even  calling on the help of Welsh opera legend Bryn Terfel.

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