The Lionesses' World Cup Final tryst could boost the UK economy by £185 million

The news of the England Women's Football Team making it to the World Cup Final is creating ripples all across the UK, lifting up the spirits of the country.

Britain is rather upbeat about the World Cup weekend, leading experts to believe that the Lionesses' World Cup Final tryst could actually pull the country out of the inflation crisis.

It's estimated that the Lionesses battling for the FIFA Women's World Cup trophy could boost the UK economy as it is likely to add £185 million to the economy, especially in the UK hospitality industry, according to the Women's World Cup 2023 Spending Report. The whole country including sports enthusiasts is expected to throng cafes, restaurants, pubs and bars to watch the World Cup final.

Speaking about the matter, the Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, Emma McClarkin, said that the UK pubs are looking forward to welcoming the fans cheering for England this Sunday.

Kate Nicholl, the Chief Executive of the trade body UKHospitality, stressed the importance of pubs for this kind of event and urged everyone to show their support to the Lionesses by heading to a pub nearby.

Race against time to keep pubs open for the Lionesses' World Cup tryst

Pubs across the UK are hoping to get relief from the council and be open in the early hours on Sunday. Nearly 4.6 million Brits watched the semifinal which saw the Lionesses through to the final on a working day. So, the final on a holiday is estimated to draw more crowds. Most pubs are hoping that UK Minister Michael Gove's letter to the councils will help them in opening the pubs early.

However, not every pub will benefit from this as those who haven't applied by August 11 can't be granted extensions by the councils. The problem is that England didn't make it to the final till August 15 hence not many prepared for the Sunday showdown. This licence problem could mean that most pubs are unable to open early and serve the fans. Present regulations prohibit the sale of alcohol before 10 am on Sundays.

The pubs can apply for a temporary event notice or TEN but that needs a five-day time for processing.

Despite that, some UK pubs can stay open at specific hours depending on their individual licences. It's not possible to change the licensing hours across all the pubs in England as it requires parliamentary approval and the parliament is on a summer break. So the government has urged the councils and the police to cooperate in granting extensions to the pubs. The Home Office has instructed police chiefs to coordinate with the pubs for early opening.

The Lionesses are battling Spain at 11 am on Sunday for the World Cup trophy. They already defeated the host country Australia on Wednesday. This is England's biggest football game since 1966.

The Lionesses' World Cup tryst to boost UK hospitality industry

A report by VoucherCodes.co.uk has revealed that England's biggest football game since 1966 is likely to cause a splurge in consumer spending over the August 19-20 weekend. The report estimates 13.7 million viewers across the UK will be watching the Women's Football World Cup Final which is twice as many people that watched the semifinal. A fifth of this 13.7 million people will head out to restaurants, pubs and bars to make the most of it.

Predictions from GlobalData further estimate that consumer spending in supermarkets over the August 19-20 weekend is likely to touch £138 million as people go out to shop for food, drink, decorations and other merchandise to support the Lionesses World Cup tryst.

Around £47 million is estimated to be spent over this weekend in hospitality venues. A majority of this consumer spending will come from tea, coffee and alcoholic beverages. This is the highest consumer spending in this World Cup. It's three times more than the consumer spending last summer when the Lionesses reached the Euro final. This vindicated a recent report that suggested live sports at pubs and bars is the driving force behind consumer spending.

The last time when the Lionesses played the Euro final pint sales went up by five per cent. The sales witnessed a 10 per cent hike over the England vs Germany euro cup final, reveals the British Beer and Pub Association.

According to the VoucherCodes report, the total consumer spending in the world cup is estimated to touch £747 million taking into account the World Cup Final. Most of it will support the UK hospitality industry including retailers and venues like pubs, bars and restaurants.