COMES ALIVE WITH WORLD CUP FRENZY
We want to create a good environment for soccer game watchers because atmosphere is their pursuit ... We hope guests will stay longer and have a drink here, watching games, after dinner.
Shanghai’s nightlife has come alive once again with bars and eateries packed with soccer fans watching the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Laughter, noise and yelling, the joy of football has revived people’s pent-up sports enthusiasm.
At midnight on Monday, several pubs at Found158 and on Maoming Rd N. in downtown Jing’an District welcomed a number of soccer fans. Strict COVID-19 prevention and control measures such as health QR code and nucleic acid test result checks were in place.
Some drank and chatted cheerfully, while most were glued to the football matches on television.
Two spirited young Englishmen, wearing hoodies with England’s iconic badge of the Three Lion Regiment, were engrossed in the exciting game between England and Iran. After a period of silence, they suddenly jumped up excitedly and burst into loud cheers intermittently as England kept knocking in the goals — six of them in total. England won 6-2.
Ben Smith, from London, said he felt greatly delighted to gather with his native friends and root for his home team with beers and cheers.
“There are fewer people than I expected, but still, it is a good vibe here,” he said. “Everyone is friendly and it’s quite a nice place to watch a good game with like-minded football fans.”
Matches kicking off at 9pm is a golden time for watching at bars, while most England games being at 3am may bring challenges to people like him with work the next day, according to Smith, a marketing executive who has been in Shanghai for three years.
“But that will not deter me from gathering with friends to drink our fill at night and cheer on our team,” he added. “As the games get more important in the knockout stage, we will look for some bars with more England fans.”
Sardor Davletov from Russia, spent the Monday night with his friend at a bar in Found158.
“I am a soccer fan, and Spain, France and Argentina are my favorite teams,” he said. “I like the place and it is very amazing, with very interesting soccer watching experience.”
Night-time consumption
The global football extravaganza has fueled night-time consumption and enriched nightlife in the city, boosting the recovery of Shanghai’s night tourism and consumption market.
A bustling scene can be observed at Goose Island Brewhouse in Jing’an during the World Cup when night falls. The customers include both Chinese and expats.
Goose Island Brewhouse has increased screens and new equipments to ensure stable broadcast signal and is providing a three-hour carouse package at deep discounts during the World Cup.
“We want to create a good environment for soccer game watchers because atmosphere is their pursuit,” said Fred Zhou, trade retail director of Budweiser APAC.
“We hope guests will stay longer and have a drink here, watching games, after dinner.”
A booming scene was seen during the opening game of the World Cup — between Qatar and Ecuador, which the host lost 0-2.
“All tables on the first floor were fully occupied, and some even stood watching the game,” said Zhou.
Moreover, the whole venue of Goose Island Brewhouse was already reserved for the nights of the semifinal and final two weeks prior to the event kicking off.
“We felt the big interest and enthusiasm of our guests based on the reservations,” Zhou noted. “We did not expect the reservations to start so early, and we have high expectations for business during the World Cup, which will certainly spur the night-time economy.”
“In fact, our business since July and August has surpassed last year’s , with many local guests.”
Goose Island Brewhouse is now open until 1am or only opens overnight when there are popular matches at 3am during the group stage, but it will be open for all knockout round matches.
“We have witnessed a significant increase in reservations, thanks to the World Cup,” said Chen Kaiqiang, director of the Dapu Road outlet of China’s hotpot chain restaurant Haidilao in Huangpu District, where World Cup elements can be found everywhere. It is open overnight during the World Cup.
Chen observed that reservations have grown about 30 percent from normal since the World Cup started and all private dining compartments with digital screens have been almost fully reserved during the World Cup period.
Mouth-watering bullfrog pot, braised dishes, fresh beer and cocktail are on the menu launched for the soccer gala.
“Fresh beer and braised dishes are among the most popular, and our dine-out delivery orders have also increased over 10 percent after 8pm since the World Cup started,” Chen said.
“Compared with the UEFA Euro 2020, we have stepped up efforts for the decoration and recipe development this time, and we hold high hopes for booming business during the World Cup.”
The visual feast for sports fans has led to a boom in hotel bookings as well, with rooms featuring big screens and sports themes favored, travel operators said.
Shanghai-based online travel operator Trip.com said bookings of hotel packages tagged “World Cup” soared nearly 40 percent day by day, with males dominating.
More than 50 percent of parent-children rooms on the platform for Sunday night, when the World Cup started, were booked by post-80s male generation, while post-90s male generation preferred rooms with big screens. Some also spent the night with their girlfriends.
Digital retailer Meituan said the number of orders for dine-in packages at World Cup-themed restaurants in China has grown 80 percent with Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hangzhou witnessing the largest number of relevant orders.
Beer and fried chicken have replaced crayfish as the most popular food among fans with sales of relevant packages soaring over 357 percent on the first three days of the World Cup, it said.
The atmosphere at ARK, a comprehensive sports and entertainment venue in Changning District, was nothing but hot on Tuesday night due to the game between Argentina and Saudi Arabia.
Fred Zhou Trade retail director of Budweiser APAC
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Shanghai’s nightlife has come alive once again with bars and eateries packed with soccer fans watching the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
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Laughter, noise and yelling, the joy of football has revived people’s pent-up sports enthusiasm.