About 37 million pints of beer were drunk in pubs all over England on Saturday’s World Cup Final win over Australia, industry estimates suggest. According to news service AFX, among the figures already in, Young & Co’s Brewery plc reported a double-digit increase in like-for-like sales, and Fuller, Smith & Turner plc said takings at its pubs were up by 50%.

Around 10,000 pubs opened early for the game, which kicked off at 09:00 in the morning UK time. Many pubs were full to capacity, with hundreds of fans having to be turned away. The pub trade also benefited from the extra time that had to be played to split the two teams, encouraging drinkers to carry on into the lunchtime session. Following the victory, many drinkers carried on throughout the day.

26 November, 2003