Can Starmer’s late-night World Cup openings help Britain’s struggling pubs?

England fans celebrate the first goal from Harry Maguire in the Fifa World Cup 2018 quarter-final between Sweden and England at the Rose & Crown in Wimbledon. Photograph: Philip Toscano/PA View image in fullscreen England fans celebrate the first goal from Harry Maguire in the Fifa World Cup 2018 quarter-final between Sweden and England at the Rose & Crown in Wimbledon. Photograph: Philip Toscano/PA Explainer Can Starmer’s late-night World Cup openings help Britain’s struggling pubs? While venues could stay open until 2am, rising costs remain a far bigger concern for many landlords Picture the scene: it’s 1am on a sultry July night and Jude Bellingham has just scored the decisive penalty to send England into the World Cup semi-final. Cue wild celebrations among millions of pub goers, fuelled by the realisation that there is still an hour until closing time. Keir Starmer may have imagined a national morale-boosting spectacle such as this when his government told hospitality venues that they could stay open until 2am on some World Cup match days. The relaxation of licensing rules reflects the UK’s time difference with the US, Mexico and Canada, the tournament’s co-hosts, which means many England and Scotland games kick off at night. But can a handful of late openings come to the rescue of the struggling hospitality sector? When can pubs open late? Venues can already apply for a “temporary events notice” to open late but the government has told councils to allow a blanket extension for pubs during games featuring the home nations. This will allow pub goers to stay until 1am for games starting between 5pm and 9pm, and as late as 2am for 10pm kick-offs. View image in fullscreen Scotland fans in Edinburgh watch the match against England during Euro 2020. Photograph: Peter Summers/Getty In England, this will only apply from the knockout stages. In Scotland, most councils will allow pubs to open late from the national team’s first World Cup fixture in nearly 30 years, versus Haiti. That game kicks off in Boston in the US at 2am UK time on 14 June, mercifully followed by a bank holiday the next day. In theory, late opening hours could apply to 13 of the tournament’s 104 games but in practice it’s likely to be significantly fewer. Why is that? The permutations of how – and whether – the home nations progress, mean that few games are likely to be eligible for late showings. England fans, in particular, may have to wait until the later stages. If the Three Lions win their group, their first knockout game kicks off at 5pm on 1 July. In theory, the game would be eligible for 1am closing. In practice, even with drinks breaks, extra time and a nerve-racking penalty shootout, the game is likely to be over by about 8pm at the latest. The clamour for a further five hours in the pub may not be loud enough to justify a late opening. “A lot of pubs will be trying to gauge the demand as the tournament progresses, rather than making a blanket commitment in advance,” sai