CGA's Matt Crompton talks about the Olympics and more importantly, it's effect on pubs in Stratford.
It seems like a distant memory now when Lord Seb Coe and his team secured the Olympic Games for London way back in 2005. It may have only been seven years ago but the world was a very different place. Cask wasn’t ‘cool’, the smoking ban was still a year off and ginger beer was still something you associated with Enid Blyton novels.
It seems like a distant memory now when Lord Seb Coe and his team secured the Olympic Games for London way back in 2005. It may have only been seven years ago but the world was a very different place. Cask wasn’t ‘cool’, the smoking ban was still a year off and ginger beer was still something you associated with Enid Blyton novels.
Fast forward to 2012 and we are now only six months away from having the ‘greatest show on earth’ on our doorsteps. The stadium is built, the tickets are on sale and a predicted audience of 4 billion people around the globe are expected to enjoy some first class sport.
But what of the great British pub? And in particular, Stratford’s pubs? Whilst most of the nation’s outlets will be focussing on getting extra income from showing The Games live on television, Stratford’s boozers will have the unique opportunity of having thousands of extra punters passing their doors.
I recently undertook a visit to the Stratford area with the Publican Morning Advertiser team to see what the local East-End pubs thought of the games and whether plans were in place to attract extra visitors into their venues.
Over a quarter of all Stratford’s drinking outlets are Local Community venues so it will be these venues that will face the biggest scramble for new drinkers. Whilst in Stratford, it quickly dawned on me that there was a certain divide in the area.
Over-looking the Olympic Park and boasting the impressive The Cow Pub amongst many other drinking venues; this side of the tracks seems well prepared for the games.
The Cow, owned by Geronimo Inns, overlooks the entrance to the Olympic Park and will look to offer spectators a premium experience with the outlet providing fresh British produce and a huge array of premium spirits and ales.
This type of Managed venue seems perfectly in tune with current market trends affecting the channel. With openings on the up and trends often emanating from the tenure, the well-worn structure of a Managed outlet is often best suited to cater for special events such as The Olympics.
If you take a stroll just 5 minutes away from the Olympic site Stratford becomes a different proposition all together. We visited both The Queens Head and The Princess of Wales whilst in the town and both licensees told a very similar story.
The Queens Head Landlady, Margaret Hammil, bemoaned the lack of tickets for young, local people. She also spoke of her dismay at late-night delivery times during The Games and also at the sheer volume of traffic passing through the capital.
Both Margaret and Billy Sinfield, Landlord of The Princess of Wales were also hugely concerned at what legacy The Games would leave. Will anyone be interested in Stratford once The Games has finished? Could the Olympic Stadium become the next Millennium Dome? Will West Ham United move into the stadium?
Both of the above pubs are typical East-End drinking dens and could easily promote themselves on their traditional British heritage. The startling question is though will most tourists even get this far into Stratford once they have been blinded by the glamour and glitz of Westfield and it’s huge array of trendy, fashionable bars?
This type of venue now has a choice. They can either do nothing and hope and pray just being there will be enough to attract sports fans or they can start planning now and try and offer the thousands of expectant fans a slice of a real East-End London pub.
There are many potential things that could be done to boost an outlet’s profile during the run up to games. Food may play a part, promotions could also help but creating a community atmosphere where spectators from far and wide can relax in surely has to be key.
So if you are planning to do down to the big smoke to see Usain Bolt run 100m faster than you can down a pint, make sure that you see all of Stratford and support the local pubs who were there 50 years ago and hopefully will be here for 50 years after The Games.
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