Pubs and supermarkets ready for bumper weekend ahead of Euros final

Pubs and supermarkets are ready for what is promising to be one of their biggest weekends of the year as football fans celebrate England making it through to the Euro 2024 final.

Pubs are hoping for a nearly £48 million boost, with landlords expecting to pour an extra 10 million pints from the pre-match build-up to the final whistle.

Thousands of those pints will flow during the late night licensing hours, with pubs in England allowed to remain open until 1am for fans to either celebrate or drown their sorrows.

“A huge £48 million in additional trade for pubs and breweries will be generated by fans across the nation.

“As with the semi-finals, pubs will be licensed to stay open until 1am on Sunday night, giving fans even more time to enjoy the game, support our pubs and hopefully celebrate football finally coming home.

“Fans have shown us resoundingly this tournament that there is no better place to watch our teams and soak up the atmosphere than the great British pub.”

Trade body UK Hospitality said England’s performance in the tournament would see the entire sector benefitting from an overall sales increase of £800 million.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: “The Euros final this Sunday will be a momentous day for the country and our nation’s pubs and bars, which are set to see a sales boost of £120 million.

“With licensing hours already extended until 1am this Sunday, I hope fans will be able to take advantage to celebrate a historic victory for England.”

While some supermarkets are shortening their opening hours – Tesco and Sainsbury’s are closing their convenience stores in England early on Sunday evening to allow employees to watch the game and Lidl is opening an hour later on Monday to let theirs recover – they are still expecting bumper sales.

Tesco said it had launched a “major operation” to make sure stores were fully stocked for the anticipated surge in food and drink for viewing parties.

Tesco store ordering manager Jason Binks said: “England reaching the final of a major football tournament is a huge feelgood factor and we know that many people around the country will be in a celebratory mood leading up to the 8pm kick off on Sunday night.

“Based on our learnings from England reaching the final last time round, and also from increasing demand through this tournament, we have a well-rehearsed supply plan in place to make sure all our stores are stocked for the extra demand.”

However, Tesco’s sales figures also suggest football mania has taken its toll on the bodies of thousands of fans across the country.

The grocer said it had seen sales of sports bandages, pain relief gels, rubs and ointments surge by almost 50% since the tournament started compared with the same period last year.