England's World Cup quarter-final against Norway on Saturday is expected to deliver a multimillion-pound windfall for venues showing the game, from a cosy Norwegian pub in London to outdoor fan zones packed with hopeful fans.
Economic Impact of the Quarter-Finals
The quarter-finals collectively are projected to generate a near half-billion pound sales increase for the wider UK economy, according to analysis from GlobalData on behalf of VoucherCodes.co.uk. Fans are expected to drink 9.3 million pints, order takeaways, and splash out on new TVs.
The overall uplift across the UK economy during the quarter-finals is projected to reach £493.6 million. Most of this, at £385 million, is forecast to be linked to the England-Norway game, with £280 million for retailers and £105 million for hospitality.
Pub and Fan Zone Boost
The hospitality sector is expected to make £27.5 million from pouring an extra 5.5 million pints on Saturday, according to the British Beer & Pubs Association (BBPA). Trade body UKHospitality reported that pub sales were up 77% on matchdays compared with a typical Tuesday.
Matt Snell, chief executive of Boxpark, the street food and entertainment pop-up company, said each match could be worth £500,000 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 2,000 people at [Boxpark] Wembley at 4am for the Mexico game on Monday. Tickets for the quarter-final went live at 5am and by lunchtime they’d sold out.”
Norwegian Pub Expects Majority Crowd
While outdoor fan zones are known for pints being launched into the air, the Kenton Arms in London is more likely to be doused in Akevitt, a Norwegian spirit. Egil Johansen, who has run the pub for 17 years, said: “I think it’ll be a majority of Norwegians, maybe 70:30 or 80:20. On Sunday against Brazil we reached our capacity of 200 about one hour before kick-off and had to stop entry. It’s 100% an extra boost for us this year.”
Indoor Venues and Cinema Screenings
Indoor venues are also cashing in. Cinema chains including Vue and Picturehouse are advertising tickets to watch the game alongside summer blockbusters. The Co-op Live venue in Manchester, part owned by the owners of Manchester City, will show the game at its 2,000-capacity Vertu Place fanzone. A spokesperson said the event, priced at £10 per ticket, sold out in 48 hours.
Retail and Takeaway Surge
Anticipation has increased sales of large TVs. Online electrical goods retailer AO.com said TV sales were up 23% year-on-year throughout June, with demand rising as England progressed. Overnight orders on Deliveroo nearly doubled during the England-Mexico match compared with the same period the week before. In the two hours before kick-off, sparkling wine and popcorn orders nearly tripled, while coffee orders doubled. At 4am, as the final whistle blew, pizza and burger orders tripled.
Tesco’s quick delivery service Whoosh recorded one of its busiest-ever days during the Mexico game, with sales of ice-cream surging 64%, big bags of crisps and snacks up 45%, and lager rising 44%. Figures from mobile operator O2 indicated a rise in online streaming and takeaway orders, with food delivery app traffic up 169% before kick-off and traffic to iPlayer 24,581% above normal at 4am. Uber experienced a 192.6% spike in traffic after full-time, indicating a trend towards watch parties.
