The Paris 2024 Olympics are on this winter, running from Friday 26 July until Sunday 11 August. Held on the other side of the world, the majority of sports will run from 5pm-5am, making it perfect for your dinner and late-night crowd – particularly in the first half of the tournament.
Live sports have always presented a big trade boost for pubs, and major tournaments do so create even more visitation possibilities for pubs, as patrons look to get in on the buzz, camaraderie and atmosphere that can’t be replicated at home. Recently, we’ve seen how big tournaments can pay off for pubs, with the likes of the FIFA Men’s and Women’s World Cups packing out pub sports bars, beer gardens and bistros.
“Major sporting events always provide an uptick in business for sports bars and pubs like ours. We saw a nice boost during the Women’s World Cup last year when the Matildas made their run. We’re anticipating a similar or potentially even larger impact from the Olympics given the prestigious nature of the event and its huge mainstream appeal,” stated Holly McMahon, group operations manager for Applejack Hospitality.
Jason Hirt, Queensland area manager for Tilley & Wills Hotels agrees: “As we saw with our World Cup initiatives in 2022 and 2023, we’re a multicultural melting pot, and we love to see everyone out and about supporting their home country. Of course, we’re hoping to see a big Aussie crew out and about supporting in green and gold. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!”
Screen time
With plenty of different sports occurring at the same time, it’s important to have coverage of the tournament throughout your venue. Stan Sport has broadcast rights for the Paris 2024 Olympics, and will have multiple streaming channels available – including a venue-only exclusive channel.
“Stan Sport will offer four streams of live sport across 16 days, in addition to the venue-only 24/7 Channel curated to have all the best sports. If you have several channels on with ALL the live sports your patrons won’t miss a minute,” explains Tim Fishwick, commercial venues manager for Stan Sport.
“As it’s not perfect timing (5pm-5am is rough timings each day from Paris), Stan Sport offers our 24/7 Channel which will have all the action and highlights non-stop during the day until live coverage starts again.”
McMahon confirmed that Applejack Hospitality’s pubs will be playing Olympics event on multiple screens: “We plan to fully utilise the multiple TV screens across all levels of our pubs including Forrester’s in Surry Hills and Taphouse in Darlinghurst. This will allow us to broadcast a variety of Olympic events simultaneously to cater to different customer interests.”
The right mix
While the timings may pose a bit of a challenge further into the tournament, venues will need to get creative to make the most out of the Olympics frenzy.
“The Paris Olympics present us with a bit of a challenge around timing of events and finals. The key will be to engage with customers through late-night food offerings with international flair and using social media to gauge what the customers are excited about and which events they’re keen to support,” states Hirt.
As always, getting the basics right – enough screens, volume up loud, the right F&B offer – make for the foundation of a successful Olympics trade at a pub. Hirt says The Prince in Fortitude Valley is gearing up for it.
“There’s something electric in the air when the Olympics come to town. A sense of pride and comradery always propels the energy in pubs around the world, and The Prince will be no different. We have one of the largest outdoor screens in Fortitude Valley, and big events like this help to reinforce our sporting credentials. With quality pub feeds, cold beer and a reputation for being the Brisbane hotspot to catch sports in our arsenal, we’re ready to have some fun and get loud.”
Building on that foundation with activations is also key in setting your venue apart from the others around you. The teams at Forrester’s and The Taphouse – Applejack Hospitality’s pubs on Sydney CBD’s fringes – are going all-in with Olympics-themed activities.
“In addition to just having the games on, we’ll dress up the venues with some styling to get people hyped for their team and offer special food and beverage promotions tied to the games, and have Olympic trivia nights or other interactive activations to engage our patrons. Our staff will be trained on the Olympic schedule so they can guide customers on what events are upcoming,” explains McMahon.
And while an uptick in trade during the course of the Olympics is one goal, the larger goal for venues is turn new patrons into regulars, as the operations manager attests.
“Ideally, the Olympics activations and watch parties will drive increased food and beverage sales over the 2-3 week period, while also introducing our venues to new customers who may then become regulars. It’s a global event that naturally aligns well with our hospitality mission of bringing people together for shared experiences.”
This piece was first published in the June-July issue of Australian Hotelier, which you can view below.