World Cup quarter-final expected to generate £500m sales boost for UK economy | Economics

From a cozy Norwegian bar to open-air fan grounds filled with England football hopefuls, Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final between the two countries is expected to generate a multimillion-pound windfall for venues showing the match.

According to one estimate, the quarter-finals will generate a sales boost of almost half a billion pounds across the UK economy as fans drink 9.3 million pints, order takeaways and tune in to new TVs.

Some of the biggest beneficiaries include venues running ticketed viewing parties, which were reported to have sold out within hours of the final whistle of England’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Mexico in the last 16 on Monday morning.

While outdoor fan areas are famous for pints of pints tossed into the air in celebration, London’s Kenton Arms is more likely to be doused in Akevitt, a caraway- and dill-flavored Norwegian spirit usually made from potatoes.

“I think the majority of Norwegians will be there, maybe 70:30 or 80:20,” said Egil Johansen, who has run the bar, the social hub of the Norwegian diaspora in London, for 17 years.

“I really wanted to make sure we got the proper Norwegian vibe that we’ve had here so far,” he said.

“Against Brazil on Sunday, we reached our capacity of 200 people about an hour before kick-off and had to stop entry. That’s 100% an extra boost for us this year.”

According to trade body UKHospitality, the tournament has already generated significant growth for the hospitality industry; Sales at bars increased by 77% on game days compared to a typical Tuesday.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said on Saturday the industry was expected to make £27.5 million from sales of an extra 5.5 million pints.

But many fans will flock to outdoor screenings.

Live broadcasts of games on BBC and ITV are regularly cut to footage of fans celebrating at outdoor venues run by Boxpark in London and Liverpool, or drowning their sorrows in stunned silence in Scotland.

Matt Snell, managing director of the pop-up street food and entertainment company, said each match could be worth £500,000 in ticket, drink and food sales.

“If we reach the final, it will be as important to us as Christmas and December,” he said.

“We were 2000 people” [Boxpark] Wembley is at 4am for Monday’s game against Mexico. Tickets for the quarter-finals went live at 5am and were sold out by lunchtime.”

He said beverage sales were not as high as in previous tournaments because the games started at inconvenient hours. But the UK’s continued progress means the projected extra sales are beyond what the company expected.

“We [budgeted for] “It’s the last 16, so everything is a bonus for us now,” he said.

While many fans prefer to watch matches outside in sunny weather, indoor venues also make money.

Branches of cinema chains such as Vue and Picturehouse are advertising tickets to see the match alongside summer blockbusters such as Disclose Day and The Odyssey.

The Co-op Live venue in Manchester, part-owned by Manchester City’s owners, will screen the game in the 2,000-capacity Vertu Place fan zone. This will be the first international play to be shown at the venue.

The event, priced at £10 per ticket, sold out within 48 hours, a spokesman said.

The overall increase in sales across the UK economy during the quarter-finals is expected to reach £493.6 million, according to research by analytics firm GlobalData on behalf of VoucherCodes.co.uk.

It is estimated that the bulk of this £385 million will be linked to the England-Norway match; £280 million will be for retailers and £105 million for accommodation.

As households began to watch the matches at home, the expectation of increased sales of major televisions also increased.

Online electrical goods retailer AO.com said TV sales were up 23% year-on-year through June, with demand rising as England continued to progress through the tournament.

Those watching at home are also keeping delivery drivers and takeaways busy.

Overnight orders on Deliveroo have almost doubled compared to the same unsocial period during the England-Mexico match in the early hours of Monday the previous week. In the two hours before the game, sparkling wine and popcorn orders nearly tripled, while coffee orders doubled. When the final whistle blew at 4 a.m., pizza and burger orders tripled.

Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket, also said that orders through its fast delivery service Whoosh increased during the Mexico match, with demand reaching its highest level between 13:00 and 15:00 as customers stocked up before the match. The service extended its working hours until midnight to accommodate more orders.

As a result, Whoosh recorded one of its busiest days ever, with ice cream sales up 64%, large packs of crisps and snacks up 45% and lager sales up 44%.

Figures from mobile operator O2 also showed a rise in online streaming and takeaway orders; Food delivery app traffic was up 169% before kick-off, while iPlayer traffic was 24,581% above normal at 4am when fans switched back to the channel to catch the final whistle.

This also referred to the trend towards watching parties in pubs, bars or homes; Private car rental app Uber was seen to experience a 192.6% increase in traffic after full-time shifts.