Euro 2020 football a 'shot in the arm' for pub trade

House of Feasts in Peterborough has been showing matches in a marquee and under a pergola

Euro 2020 has been a boon for many pubs after their enforced closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But while screening the matches for eager punters has been a welcome money-spinner, it has not proved plain sailing for everyone.

'Gone in 60 seconds'

The rush for seats in the big screen marquee crashed the pub's website

Chef and owner of House of Feasts in Peterborough, Damian Wawrzyniak, 41, says showing the Euro matches at the pub has "really made a name for us as a football pub".

The venue is only showing matches outdoors on one massive six-metre (20ft) screen in a marquee, and two large screens under a pergola.

Tickets for the 25 tables of six in the marquee sold out in three minutes for Wednesday's England v Denmark semi-final, which England won 2-1.

"That night was amazing," says Mr Wawrzyniak.

"The atmosphere was very energetic, but we have mostly the same people coming for each match - we're like one big football family."

He kept the business afloat during lockdown by opening a delicatessen shop in the pub and online sales across the country meant they were sending "about 70 boxes out each day to as far away as Scotland", he says.

There are screens in the pub's pergola as well

Screening the Euros has made the pub so popular that when bookings for tables in the marquee were announced for Sunday's final, the venue's website crashed.

"The phones were going crazy - we just had to stop everything because we were overwhelmed," Mr Wawrzyniak says.

"When we started it up again, they were literally gone in less than 60 seconds."

He was prepared for another flurry of hectic activity as he opened up bookings for tables in the pergola area.

'Me and the wife watched in the bar alone'

The Murderers pub has had to shut after staff tested positive for Covid-19

Phil Cutter runs The Murderers in the centre of Norwich.

With 13 TVs - two of which are in the gents' toilets - showing Euro 2020 matches has been "a real shot in the arm" for a pub that has been closed for 12 out of the past 15 months, he says.

He should have taken "tens of thousands of pounds" from punters watching England's semi-final victory and Sunday's final against Italy.

Instead, he has closed the pub after finding out on Wednesday morning that two staff members had tested positive for Covid-19.

It was his decision to close for safety reasons, but now Public Health England has told him it must remain shut for 10 days - which means showing the final is out of the question.

"It's not about the money, it's about keeping our customers, staff and families safe," he says.

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But it has been just one more challenge the independent pub landlord has had to face.

"Events like the football are one of the reasons you open up a pub, and sport is a massive, massive part of our business," he says.

Having to close over what would have been "a very lucrative time" has been "a bitter pill to swallow".

He estimates the business will lose about £30,000 in takings while closed, the lion's share of which would have come from the semi-final and final.

At full capacity the pub welcomed about 350 fans for 2018's World Cup matches and was able to cater for about 150 fans for Euro matches under social distancing regulations.

"Instead, me and the wife sat in the bar alone, watching the semi-final," he says.

'We were close to having no money'

The punters at The Black Prince are more used to live music in the garden

The Black Prince in Northampton doesn't usually do football - or any sport for that matter. The live music pub is better known for "goth metal nights" instead.

"It's been really tough as we've been shut for a year and we'd got to the stage where we were close to having no money," says manager Oliver Hepworth, 31.

"We managed to get a massive TV in time for the quarter-finals and since then tickets for tables have been flying out the door."

The pub has a large outside area that could usually accommodate about 700 people for gigs, but with restrictions in place is selling tickets for 60 tables for up to six people.

Games are being shown on a screen in the pub's large garden at the back

"We sold out in a few minutes and now we've got 150 people on the waiting list - and each one of those people wants a table for six - so you can do the maths," he says.

"Some people ask why we're showing sport instead of what we usually do, but I say we've got to do this now to bring in the money so we can keep doing our live music."

And it has brought in the money. It's made them "thousands", he says.

"Football has been good for our business - it really is a great boost."