Tuesday March 10th 2026
Photo by Nicholas Green (Unsplash)
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Joe Sullivan
Fan zones in Edinburgh for the World Cup may be able to apply for similar late opening hours to pubs, according to plans going before Edinburgh councillors.
Next Monday’s regulatory committee meeting will consider how to handle opening hours for fan zones, some of which may wish to run well into the morning.
Officers have recommended outdoor fan zones be required to make a case to the city’s licensing committee as to why they should be able to run.
Last month, the city’s Licensing Board signed off on pubs screening World Cup matches to open up to a half hour after games finish.
With some kick-offs in the tournament coming as late as 5am UK time, this could see some pubs stay open until the area of 7am.
In a report before councillors at the Monday meeting, officers are asking for similar rules to be applied to fan zones set up in the city to allow fans to watch games.
Under their proposals, indoor premises looking to screen matches with an occasional licence and the need for a temporary licence ‘should’ be granted, but only for days where matches are shown.
The terminal hour of the temporary licence would be the same as for pubs – closing 30 minutes after the conclusion of a match – while food sale must end when the match concludes.
For outdoor spaces looking to operate as fan zones and screen matches outdoors, officers say these would ‘not generally be considered appropriate’.
They recommend that applications be referred to the city’s licensing committee, where applicants would be expected to prove that the ‘activity requested will not result in anti-social behaviour or excessive nuisance to residential premises.’
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