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From a cosy Norwegian pub to outdoor fan zones packed with hopeful England football fans, Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final between the two nations is expected to generate a multimillion-pound windfall for venues showing the game.
The quarter-finals will collectively generate a near half-billion pound sales increase for the wider UK economy, as fans drink ۹.۳m pints, order takeaways and splash out on new TVs, according to one estimate.
Some of the biggest beneficiaries include venues staging ticketed watch parties, many of which reported selling out within hours of the final whistle blowing in England’s thrilling ۳-۲ victory over Mexico in the last ۱۶ on Monday morning.
While outdoor fan zones are renowned for pints of beer being launched into the air in celebration, the Kenton Arms in London is more likely to be doused in Akevitt, a Norwegian spirit typically made from potatoes, with flavours of caraway and dill.
“I think it’ll be a majority of Norwegians, maybe ۷۰:۳۰ or ۸۰:۲۰,” said Egil Johansen, who has run the pub – a social hub for London’s Norwegian diaspora – for ۱۷ years.
“I really wanted to make sure that we get a proper Norwegian vibe in here, which we have had so far,” he said.
“On Sunday against Brazil we reached our capacity of ۲۰۰ about one hour before kick-off and had to stop entry. It’s ۱۰۰% an extra boost for us this year.”
The tournament has already provided a significant uplift for the hospitality sector, with sales in pubs up by ۷۷% on matchdays compared with a typical Tuesday, according to trade body UKHospitality.
On Saturday, the sector is expected to make £۲۷.۵m from pouring an extra ۵.۵m pints, the British Beer & Pubs Association (BBPA) said.
But many fans will be flocking to outdoor screenings.
Live broadcasts of the games on the BBC and ITV regularly cut to images of fans celebrating – or in Scotland’s case drowning their sorrows in stunned silence – at open-air venues, such as those run by Boxpark in London and Liverpool.
Matt Snell, chief executive of the street food and entertainment pop-up company, said each match could be worth £۵۰۰,۰۰۰ in sales of tickets, drinks and food.
“If we reach the final, it’ll be as big as Christmas and the whole month of December for us,” he said.
“We had ۲,۰۰۰ people at [Boxpark] Wembley at ۴am for the Mexico game on Monday. Tickets for the quarter-final went live at ۵am and by lunchtime they’d sold out.”
He said drinks sales haven’t been as high as for previous tournaments, due to games kicking off at unsociable hours. However, England’s continuing progress means projected extra sales are ahead of what the company expected.
“We [budgeted for] the last ۱۶ so everything now is a bonus for us,” he said.
While many fans are choosing to watch games outside during the sunny weather, indoor venues are cashing in, too.
Branches of cinema chains including Vue and Picturehouse are advertising tickets to watch the game, alongside summer blockbusters such as Disclosure Day and The Odyssey.
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The Co-op Live venue in Manchester, part owned by the owners of Manchester City, will be showing the game at its ۲,۰۰۰-capacity Vertu Place fanzone. It will be the first international game shown at the venue.
A spokesperson said the event, priced at £۱۰ per ticket, sold out in ۴۸ hours.
The overall uplift in sales across the UK economy during the quarter-finals is projected to reach £۴۹۳.۶m, according to research from analysis firm GlobalData on behalf of VoucherCodes.co.uk.
Most of this, at £۳۸۵m, is forecast to be linked to the England-Norway game, with £۲۸۰m for retailers and £۱۰۵m for hospitality.
The anticipation has increased sales of large TVs, as households get ready to watch the games at home.
Online electrical goods retail AO.com said TV sales were up ۲۳% year-on-year throughout June, with demand rising as England continue to progress through the tournament.
Those watching at home have also been keeping delivery riders and takeaways busy.
Overnight orders on Deliveroo nearly doubled compared with the same unsociable period the week before during the England-Mexico match in the early hours of Monday. In the two hours before kick-off, sparkling wine and popcorn orders nearly tripled while coffee orders doubled. At ۴am, as the final whistle blew, pizza and burger orders tripled.
The UK’s biggest supermarket, Tesco, also said orders via its quick delivery service Whoosh surged during the Mexico game with demand at its highest between ۱pm and ۳pm as customers stocked up ahead of the game. The service extended its hours until midnight to catch more orders.
As a result, Whoosh recorded one of its busiest-ever days with sales of ice-cream surging ۶۴%, big bags of crisps and snacks up ۴۵% and lager rising ۴۴%.
Figures from mobile operator O۲ also indicated a rise in online streaming and takeaway orders with food delivery app traffic up ۱۶۹% before kick-off while traffic to iPlayer was ۲۴,۵۸۱% above normal at ۴am, as fans tuned back in to catch the final whistle.
It also indicated a trend towards watch parties – in pubs and bars or homes, with private vehicle hire app Uber experiencing a ۱۹۲.۶% spike in traffic after full-time.
