As part of a press release today, the Government has confirmed that the proposed relaxation of licensing hours during the FIFA Men’s Football World Cup in 2026 will now also apply to the quarter-finals, in addition to the semi-finals and final, where a Home Nation (England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland) reaches those stages. This represents an extension of the proposals previously announced.
The proposal is to extend the hours that premises (in England and Wales) are permitted to sell alcohol for consumption on the premises so that they can continue to sell alcohol, without the need to apply for a Temporary Event Notice (TEN), until:
- 01:00 the following morning where any of the Home Nations reach a quarter-final, semi-final or final with a kick-off at or before 21:00 (BST); or
- 02:00 the following morning where a Home Nation reaches a quarter-final with a kick-off at 22:00 (BST).
Importantly, where matches kick off later than the times referenced above, those fixtures are currently out of scope of the proposed relaxation. As matters stand, operators wishing to open later for those matches would therefore need to rely on the Temporary Event Notice process.
That said, the Government has stated:
“Premises will therefore still have to issue a Temporary Events Notice for any other games where they want to open late, but we are exploring options to extend opening hours for other Home Nation games too.”
This indicates that the Government may look to extend the relaxation further, potentially to additional — or all — Home Nation fixtures.
The government stated it will also legislate later this year to increase the number of temporary event notices (TENs) pubs and other hospitality venues can hold to help screen other World Cup games or host community and cultural events.
Separately, the Government also announced in the press release that pubs and live music venues will get a 15% cut to new business rates bills from April followed by a two-year real-terms freeze, as well as a review into the method used to value them for business rates. Also the Government have committed to £10 million of funding for the Hospitality Support Fund over three years – upped from £1.5 million for one year announced last April – to support pubs across the UK.
Further detail is expected in due course.
Link to press release here.
Please feel fee to contact any of our licensing solicitors on 0115 953 8500 if you have any any questions or queries.
