‘GHOST TOWN’
Cardiff traders face up to economic hit of a Six Nations start with no fans:
T HIS weekend Wales begins its annual campaign to win the Six Nations title.
But this year there is obviously one crucial difference – the games are being held behind closed doors because of the ongoing Covid lockdown.
It means 70,000 fans, packed pubs and a city buzzing with European visitors have been replaced by empty seats, deserted streets and ongoing coronavirus restrictions.
For most people, it’s going to be difficult to imagine Cardiff without the Six Nations as we know it – the two have become synonymous with each other.
Each year, during the worldfamous tournament, the city becomes a hubbub of passionate rugby fans, with the Principality Stadium as its centrepiece.
Streets become a sea of red, foghorns are the soundtrack of choice and the city’s pubs and clubs are fit to burst.
For each home weekend of the contest, the city transforms itself into a metropolis of international fanatics with tens of thousands of fans making their way to the capital – whether they have tickets for the game or not.
In “normal” times, before the coronavirus pandemic wrought its devastation and brought the world grinding to a halt, the tournament was seen by many as a beacon of sporting light amid the bleak winter gloom.
Even last year, as coronavirus slowly made its way to our shores, the tournament largely continued unscathed – apart from the infamous final game, of course.
Just 10 days before the UK was placed into a national lockdown, thousands of Scottish and Welsh fans travelled to the capital only to be told at the 11th hour that the game was off
But this year, while Wales’ opener today against Ireland will be shown on TV, rugby clubs across the country will be empty, fans will be watching from home, and Cardiff will be a ghost town.
So, with the Six Nations undoubtedly more than just a rugby tournament for the city, how will Cardiff cope without it?
For the hospitality industry, which is currently closed under coronavirus regulations, the Six Nations usually marks one of the busiest times of the year.
Pub boss Jonathan Bassett, who owns JW Bassett venues in Cardiff and Newport, says it’s difficult to imagine the city without the usual atmosphere that comes with the tournament.
“I can’t think of a year where Cardiff isn’t completely taken over by rugby every weekend, for six weeks,” said Jonathan.
“I just can’t imagine it, it’s so odd to think that the game will be going on inside the stadium but just outside everything will be so quiet.
“The only word I can use to describe it usually is ‘electric’. Cardiff is just the best place for rugby because the stadium is just on the doorstep, right in the centre of the city.
“I go all over for rugby and in some cases you have to go sort of 10 miles or so out of the city but in Cardiff the atmosphere across the whole city is just incredible.”
Jonathan runs the Queens Vaults pub, a stone’s throw from the Principality Stadium. He says that even when Wales are playing away, during the Six Nations the pub is still fit to burst.
But he says missing out on the trade from the tournament this year pales compared to business lost during the pandemic.
“We’ve been open something like 15 weeks out of 52 in the last year, this is just another drop in the ocean,” he said.
“The thing is, it’s not just one day on the weekend, the crowds usually get started on Thursday night, and we’ll still have people here on a Monday afternoon.
“To put how big it is into perspective – at the Queens Vaults, even on an away day, we can make more money when Wales are playing in England than we do when the Wales football team are playing a game in the [Principality] stadium over the road.”
Meanwhile, Jonathan also muses on how the tournament would have looked had pubs been allowed to open under stringent circumstances.
“An international day with restrictions is difficult too, you have to ask yourself would that realistically work. You worry what it’s going to be like when you come back too, what pubs are going to look like.
“Cardiff on international day is just so vibrant, and to be frank, vibrancy and restrictions don’t really go well together.
“It’s a difficult one because at one point you’re thinking about what could happen, and opening up with restrictions and then you’re also thinking ‘are we ever going to get match days back as they were’”.
The tournament proves to be such a draw in Cardiff that fans from all other five nations can spend up to a week in the capital soaking up the atmosphere in the lead-up to the game.
One person who knows this all too well is Richard Smith, the general manager of the Angel Hotel on Castle Street, one of the nearest hotels to the stadium.
Each year, on match day, the hotel lobby often plays hosts to male voice choirs from across Wales and is packed to the brim all day.
“This time of year, we’d usually be full from the Tuesday or Wednesday until the following week, lots of people don’t just come for the weekend,” said Richard.
“Depending what game is on but a lot of fans come for the whole week to stay, the French and the Irish stay the longest.
“On the day of the game, the lobby is just absolutely rammed, the atmosphere is incredible. It’s usually so busy that you can’t see the floor.
“We have the.choirs in, the fans, it’s just singing – it’s magnificent to see.
“Usually every function room would be full, every bar, we’d be looking at over 800 covers for food and drink on a match day. It’s just an electric atmosphere, it’s awe-inspiring.
“For us, the English and Irish games are always the busiest but, that being said, for the six weeks that the tournament is on we could probably sell all the rooms twice over.
“This year will be weird, there’s no buzz about it, there’s been no hype about it.”
Richard says that choosing to hold the tournament behind closed doors means the hospitality industry will completely miss out on trade. There had been hopes by many that it would be postponed.
“It’s sad but we understand it. It’s the worst decision financially for us,” he said.
“If it had been postponed we would at least have been able to have the trade later in the year but right now we’re missing out completely.
“We’ve had some trade over the last year with contractors who have been working at the field hospital [Dragon’s Heart hospital which temporarily took over the Principality Stadium last year] but ultimately it’s so quiet.
“I think we were all hoping it would go ahead as it’s just a great time, most of the staff working here haven’t known a February with no rugby.”
While pubs and hotels are permanent fixtures in the city, for some people the Six Nations provides vital trade that only the tournament provides.
Anyone who has been in Cardiff on a match day will be familiar with the scarf sellers and face painters that are instrumental to the atmosphere.
At her regular spot on St Mary Street, Irene Quelch has painted the cheeks of thousands of fans during her six years as a match-day face painter.
“I go every year, every home game – I’ve got my regular spot. Between me, the scarf sellers, the doormen who let us in to use the toilets, we’re all one big family.
“It’s just great fun, it’s a buzz. You see all the away supporters, all the home fans, I always see my local rugby team go by – it’s a brilliant atmosphere.
“Some of the people you meet are just brilliant. The Irish fans are so friendly and love a laugh, the French are always trying to give you food, it’s hilarious – I was even blessed by a ‘pope’ one year.
“I don’t go a year without going now, it’s such a good carnival atmosphere.”
Irene, from Caldicot, says it’s alien to think that the game itself will be going on as usual in the stadium but
no fans will be allowed in to watch.
“It’s just not nice to think about what the city is going to be like this year. It’s going to be a ghost town.
“It’s awful to think that inside the stadium the game will be going on but with no fans.
“No singing, no passion, no atmosphere – it’s just sad.
“Last year, obviously we didn’t know loads about the virus – fans were still travelling from other countries – when the last game was called off last minute it took us all by surprise.
“There were still hundreds of people out and about last year – it was still a brilliant atmosphere, but I suppose none of us really knew how bad it was going to be.”
With the games usually over and done with by the evening, thousands of fans spill out of the stadium and straight to the nearest pub or bar to continue their night.
But for those who decide to end their night early, the taxi queue is usually the first port of call.
During the coronavirus pandemic taxi drivers have faced an economic hit, sometimes making as little as £15 in an eight-hour shift. In a year when people have been urged to stay at home, drivers have been faced with a desperate situation – and are again missing out on a busy period.
Firas Mahmoud, a driver in Cardiff, says that not only are they missing the trade on match day, but also the tourists that visit the city.
“We have the best city with the Six Nations and the best crowds. I remember the Rugby World Cup, it was great,” he said. “It’s very busy. People come to the city and book hotels and we take them to Cardiff Bay, to St Fagans – they visit tourist places too.”
It’s difficult to think of a street that will be harder hit without matchday footfall than Caroline Street, or “Chippy Alley”, in the heart of the city.
In a typical year, takeaways on the street will be busy during the day right through to the early morning. But this year, not only will there be no fans to feed, but there will be barely any footfall full stop.
The city is so devoid of the usual Six Nations excitement that Tamer Ali at Tony’s Fish Bar was even unaware it was starting this weekend.
“It’s starting this weekend? Where are the people? It’s sad, we’re usually really busy,” he said.
“Maybe it will be busy again next year. We are hopeful that things will open again properly in a few months.”