Hospitality businesses in more than half of Dutch municipalities have been given permission to extend their opening hours during the FIFA World Cup, according to Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN).
Because the tournament is taking place in Canada, Mexico and the United States, many matches will kick off late in the evening. Under normal regulations, cafés would not be allowed to stay open long enough to show some of these games. As a result, 183 of the Netherlands’ 342 municipalities, representing just over 53 per cent, have decided to temporarily relax their closing times.
When KHN first surveyed the situation on 9 June, 170 municipalities had agreed to the measure. Thirteen more have since joined. Initially, the four largest cities had not approved longer opening hours. But hospitality venues in Utrecht have now also been allowed to stay open later. Among the four largest municipalities, only Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague have not yet granted permission.
The Dutch national team will play its first group-stage match against Japan on Sunday. The game is scheduled to kick off at 10pm. The following matches are against Sweden on 20 June and Tunisia on 26 June.
@anp | NEWS BRAINPORT
