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

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 9.3m 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 3-2 victory over Mexico in the last 16 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 70:30 or 80:20,” said Egil Johansen, who has run the pub – a social hub for London’s Norwegian diaspora – for 17 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 200 about one hour before kick-off and had to stop entry. It’s 100% 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 77% on matchdays compared with a typical Tuesday, according to trade body UKHospitality.On Saturday, the sector is expected to make £27.5m from pouring an extra 5.5m 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 £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.”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 16 so everything now is a bonus for us,” he said.The hospitality sector is expected to make £27.5m from pouring an extra 5.5m pints when England take on Norway on Saturday. Photograph: Scott Heppell/AFP/Getty ImagesWhile 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.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThe Co-op Live venue in Manchester, part owned by the owners of Manchester City, will be showing the game at its 2,000-capacity Vertu Place fanzone. It will be the first international game shown at the venue.A spokesperson said the event, priced at £10 per ticket, sold out in 48 hours.The overall uplift in sales across the UK economy during the quarter-finals is projected to reach £493.6m, according to research from analysis firm GlobalData on behalf of VoucherCodes.co.uk.Most of this, at £385m, is forecast to be linked to the England-Norway game, with £280m for retailers and £105m 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 23% year-on-year throughout June, with demand rising as England continue to progress through the tournament.Overnight orders on Deliveroo nearly doubled compared for the England-Mexico match. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianThose 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 4am, 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 1pm and 3pm 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 64%, big bags of crisps and snacks up 45% and lager rising 44%.Figures from mobile operator O2 also indicated a rise in online streaming and takeaway orders with food delivery app traffic up 169% before kick-off while traffic to iPlayer was 24,581% above normal at 4am, 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 192.6% spike in traffic after full-time.