Bill’s and The Ivy among restaurants to close early for Euros final
![Credit: Getty / Aleksandra Aleshchenko](/var/wrbm_gb_hospitality/storage/images/_aliases/wrbm_large/publications/hospitality/restaurantonline.co.uk/news/trends-reports/bill-s-and-the-ivy-among-restaurants-to-close-early-for-euros-final-england-v-spain-this-sunday/6374302-1-eng-GB/Bill-s-and-The-Ivy-among-restaurants-to-close-early-for-Euros-final-England-v-Spain-this-Sunday.jpg)
The majority of Caring’s The Ivy restaurants will also close early, with the decision giving more than 5,000 staff the time to watch the football match.
A spokesperson for Richard Caring said: “We are thrilled for the England team and it is a great chance for our staff, who have worked so hard through some very difficult times recently, to be able to watch the game.
“It is the first final for England outside of this country and they will now have many more voices cheering them on to what we hope will be a fantastic victory.”
Many restaurants have arranged to screen the match for diners and staff. They include London-based steakhouse group Gaucho, which will be showing it at its Piccadilly and Richmond sites.
Neighbourhood-style restaurant brand Megan's has said it will close all but one of its sites at 8pm on Sunday so that its teams can celebrate the game. The exception will be The Terrace by Megan’s on Clapham Common, which will be screening the match instead.
Britain’s pubs and bars are set to benefit from huge increased sales this Sunday, with UKHospitality claiming they could rocket by as much as 50%.
Fans will be able to benefit from extended licensing hours, with licensed premises able to serve until 1am.
“The Euros final this Sunday will be a momentous day for the country and our nation’s pubs and bars, which are set to see a sales boost of £120m.
“Pubs will be packed to the rafters with fans cheering on the Three Lions and creating an unrivalled atmosphere, outside of being at the game in Berlin.
“With licensing hours already extended until 1am this Sunday, I hope fans will be able to take advantage to celebrate a historic victory for England.”
In London, Wireless Festival will close early at 7pm on Sunday ‘for the Euro final between England and Spain’ following news that two performers had dropped out with no replacements.
A statement on the festival’s Instagram read: “Rockstar energy presents Wireless will now finish at 7pm on Sunday, July 14th, to give you plenty of time to travel home to watch the Euro final England Vs Spain match. The festival is going ahead as planned on Sunday and Doja Cat will perform a full headline set.”
However, the decision has been met with criticism by some festival goers.
As reported by MyLondon, some fans have argued that the football game should be shown on a big screen if the festival was ending early.
One person messaged: “Why not just play it on the big screens there.? That would’ve been a viiiiibe. Just ruuuuuining it.”
Another said: “This is MAD! A festival finishing at 7pm?! The big screen would have been so good, can’t understand it.”
England v Spain will kick off at 8pm BST on Sunday at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany, and will be shown live on both BBC One and ITV 1.