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 https://www.theguardian.com/football/world-cup-2026">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.