If England is the birthplace of football, Brazil is very much its spiritual home. For this reason, many people would say that if the World Cup can’t be held over here, we’d prefer that it be hosted by the five time champions and pioneers of samba football. A Brazilian World Cup is like a dream come true for players and fans alike. But it also has its pitfalls, most notable amongst them being the time difference, which means that the majority of the tournament will take place rather later in the day than we might like.
Fortunately the government has allowed pubs to relax licensing hours during England matches and to stay open for up to four hours after each England match kicks off, although no alcohol can be served after 1am. This means when we watch England crash out embarrassingly/heroically we’ll all be able to do it together. However, the late kick offs have affected the size of the crowds in which we can view this World Cup since some of the country’s biggest cities have decided against putting up big screens this year because of this. It’s a shame as these big outdoor displays always generate a fantastic atmosphere and have become one of, if not the, most fun ways to watch sport.
Many city councils have said that, in part, the reason for the lack of outdoor screens is the altruistic motive of trying to help local pubs, but in Bristol, the council have been perhaps a little more honest in saying that the screens won’t be there because everyone was too naughty last time: arguing that screens cause “potential for trouble”. The costs of putting up and policing the screens without sponsorship, along with noise levels and public alcohol consumption they cause, has put off most cities off. Although as the tournament progresses (particularly if England somehow manage to stay in the competition) this could change, for now there are only a few big screen options to speak of, but at least there are still some places available to join a massive crowd and cheer on the Three Lions.
London’s biggest, most obvious locations for outdoor events – Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square etc. – won’t have screens up for the World Cup (although Brazil Day, in Trafalgar Square, on the day of the opening game is sure to have a carnival atmosphere) but there is one free screen we’ve come across. The Summer of Sport screen, in London’s Exchange Square, is set up for the entire summer and will be showing Wimbledon, the Tour de France the Open Championship and more along with two World Cup matches a day. They’re showing the weekday 5pm and 8pm kick offs – which will mean you may need to find somewhere else for the final, which is on a Sunday. It’s around Liverpool Street Station, in the modern Broadgate area, full of cool cafes, restaurants and bars. Accessing the screen should be easy and there are disabled toilets in the vicinity too.
Brighton’s Big Screen is usually used for the local film festival but will also be showing some of the matches at this summer’s World Cup. The selection of games on show is mostly just whatever games fit around the schedule of films they’re screening but special dispensation has been made for the second and third England games, against Uruguay and Costa Rica (our first game, against Italy, kicks off at eleven in the evening so they can’t show it). The screen is on the beach, just 200m from the Brighton Wheel and there will be ramps from Marine Parade leading onto the beach as well as a track on site which will be suitable for wheelchair access. However, the general admission area will be directly located on the beach; therefore wheelchairs may be required to be left on the track. There will also be a disabled toilet available.
Leeds appears to be one of the few cities whose council has sorted out a big screen for the summer of sport. Perhaps it’s because someone decided that Leeds’ citizens are more capable of behaving themselves than most, but more likely it’s because, 2014 is a big year for sport in Leeds, with the city hosting the opening stage of the Tour de France and if they’re putting a screen up for that, they want to make the most of it.
Millenium Square will screen the final two of Roy Hodgson’s men’s group games, along with a host of other matches held in the tournament. Again, due to the first England game kicking off at eleven it can’t be screened in the square. For most of the time the square will have a fairly come as you please atmosphere but for each England match shown (and some others), space will be more restricted and gates will be open approximately 1 ½ hours before kick-off with admission on a strictly first-come first-served basis. No tickets will be issued or required, and the outdoor arena will also feature a fully-licensed bar, toilet facilities and catering outlets.
There are no public screenings in Liverpool as far as we can tell, but there is the amazing sounding Camp and Furnace Fan Park to go to instead. The venue holds big screens showing every match and much more, including live music, DJs, dancers, street food, art installations, performance. They even have a retro football shirt shop. Liverpool is renowned as one of the country’s great football towns and also has one of the UK’s largest Brazilian communities so it should be a brilliant venue for Rio 2014. Camp and Furnace has an adapted toilet for less able people and although there are stairs to get in at the main entrance, there are other ways in and once inside it should be easy to get around everywhere accessibly.
Another football mad city which doesn’t have any obvious outdoor events is Newcastle. However, all is not lost as the O2 Academy is opening up its doors for two of the England group games (you can probably guess which two by now). They’re promising the biggest screen in Newcastle and entry is free although limited. There are wheelchair accessible seats at the O2 which may still be available for anyone wanting to go and they also have a disabled toilet in the venue.
A final idea for a really big screen experience is to go to the first place you think of when you think of big screens – the cinema! Both Odeon and Showcase are screening the tournament at selected cinemas. Tickets are free at both chains but on a first come, first serve basis. Showcase are showing all but one of the games, whereas Odeon are being slightly more selective regarding the calibre of matches they show (think Spain vs Holland rather than Iran vs Nigeria). It might not be quite as stylish as the other options but these big multiplex cinemas are normally very accessible. There’s a chance that the game you go to may be in 3D and there are also some independent cinemas with similar plans for the World Cup.
As you can see, we’ve found that there are some options for watching the World Cup on a big screen with a big outdoor crowd, but these options do seem to be more limited than they have been in recent years. More may pop up as the tournament progresses and we may be made aware of more, but for now it seems like maybe Rio will not be the World Cup of the public fan park. As a result of this, in a couple of days time, we’ll be bringing a round up of the best, accessible sports bar for watching the football.