12.4 million customers are expected to choose Local Pubs, Bars and Nightclubs as their place to watch the World Cup
A new report estimates that the 2026 World Cup will be primarily watched at home – simply because of the game start times – with 31.2 million retail viewers. But a huge number of participants will look to tune in from their local watering hole for at least one game.
A popular World Cup report by VoucherCodes says the majority of out-of-home viewers will watch from a pub, yet bars and clubs will receive more than 7 million visitors across the breadth of the world cup tournament.
The group games of course offers non-stop football, with improved footfall to be expected over the June July period. Yet the home nations games of Scotland and England will see massive boosts to turnout, sales and dwell time. And as the tournament progresses, getting to the knockout round where the stakes are higher, viewership will peak.
Extensions to opening hours will certainly help nights where the home nation’s play. Beer sales are predicted to reach an all time high. Over in Boston, many pubs and bars are running out of beer to appease the influx of celebratory Scotland fans. Even their distributor is running out of product to fill their taps. Spending is expected to reach £898 million across the UK’s hospitality landscape.
NTIA estimates 50 million pints to be sold
Mike Kill from the NTIA has said: “We estimate that more than 50 million pints will be sold in pubs during the tournament, generating hundreds of millions of pounds in economic activity and supporting thousands of jobs across the sector. The impact extends well beyond licensed venues, benefiting suppliers, transport operators, local businesses and high streets across the country.
NDML advises bars and pubs to stock up on beer and drinks, and review your stock insurance
If you are planning on running a world cup event, it’s is likely your best selling beverage will be oversold. On England match days, fans typically sink between 13 and 30 million extra pints that day. Bars should not underestimate football-watching drinkers, and should prepurchase plenty of beer and drinks ahead of time.
Based on FIFA’s 2022 tournament data, experts project that the 2026 World Cup could see at least 3 million litres of beer consumed at official venues and fan zones. That’s over 5.2 million pints, enough to fill more than 1,200 Olympic swimming pools, or to stockpile the equivalent of 5,000 double-decker buses full of lager. If one person tried to drink it all at a rate of one pint per day, they’d be at the bar for over 8,200 years.
However, an increase in stock on the premises could impact your insurance. Stock insurance financially protect businesses in case their stock is stolen, destroyed or damaged. For example, if your bought keg is not up to scratch and can’t be served, that a major revenue stream lost. Stock insurance is essential, but each policy will have a limit.
NDML are advising pub, bars and clubs to review their stock insurance. NDML can very quickly and confidentially do that for any business. And if there Sums Insured is not enough, posing an underinsurance risk, then NDML can increase the cover.
Contact NDML today if you are purchasing extra stock and are concerned about your cover limits.
Late opening hours for pubs
To accommodate for the late kick-off times, pubs can stay open until 1am for England and Scotland games that kick off before 9am. And can stay open until 2am for home nation games that kickoff between 9pm and 10pm. This means more time for celebration and more sales.
However disorderly behavior is far more likely the later the night goes on. Risks are increased and business need to do their due diligence. Bar and pubs should assess their health and safety policies ahead of match days. Consider employing more security and strictly regulating capacity. The last thing bar and pubs want at such an opportunistic period is to be dragged into a laborious liability claim. NDML’s inhouse claims team are experts at resolving claims quickly, ensuring minimum disruption.
Read more about how NDML has benefitted nightlife businesses through our case studies.
Hospitality Stats for World Cup
Courtesy of the popular report by VoucherCodes:
- Those aged 35-44 will be the generation splashing the most in hospitality venues, prioritising drink purchases over food and sending £219.4m.
- Spending on drinks is set to outperform food spend by 48%.
- Spend is expected to outshine previous tournaments, with a 46% increase on the 2024 Men’s Euros and a 103% increase on the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Hospitality operators will need to target England games, get their stock in place, and be prepared for increase boisterous footfall. All signs and stats point toward an excellent and busy world cup tournament, where not only footfall but also average spend rises. The days inbetween match days also see a significant bump, therefore hospitality and nightlife businesses need to have everything in place to profit from this opportunistic period. Insurance risks are key to preparation – and NDML is best place to help businesses with their insurance needs.
Read Safety Risks Posed to Bar and Nightclubs by the World Cup