World Cup 2026: Tournament brought extra HK$500M revenue to Hong Kong’s bars and restaurants, industry rep says

The World Cup brought an additional HK$500 million in revenue to Hong Kong’s bars and restaurants, an industry rep has said, despite games being held in the middle of the night due to the time difference. Lin Heung Tea House on July 5, 2026. Photo: Alexx_sze, via Threads. Simon Wong, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants & Related Trades, said on an RTHK radio show on Monday morning that live screenings of the World Cup brought a higher-than-expected boost to eateries. Revenue increased by around 6 per cent month-on-month, Wong said, much more than the 2 or 3 per cent initial forecast. Lin Heung Tea House on July 5, 2026. Photo: Alexx_sze, via Threads. “This is quite encouraging for the restaurant industry,” he said in Cantonese, adding that the atmosphere “heated up” as the World Cup reached the round of 16 and quarter-finals stages. Wong’s comments were made just hours after Spain beat Argentina in the World Cup final, marking an end to the season’s 104-match run. This year’s World Cup was co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the US, meaning matches were played in the middle of the night Hong Kong time due to the 12-hour time difference. Many bars and eateries – including famed yum cha restaurant Lin Heung Tea House in Central – set up large screens and extended their opening hours to cater to football fans. Wong said that, with restaurants having invested in screens and other livestreaming hardware, he expected that eateries would capitalise on major sporting events to attract customers in the future. Football fans watching the World Cup at Metro City Plaza in Tseung Kwan O on July 20, 2026. Photo: Metro City Plaza, via Facebook. Beyond restaurants and bars, Hongkongers also packed shopping malls that were broadcasting the World Cup final in the early hours of Monday. Some malls introduced offers to attract fans. Olympian City in Tai Kok Tsui partnered with restaurants in the mall, including McDonald’s and Dough Bros, to offer food delivery services directly to the atrium where the match was screened. In Tseung Kwan O, Metro City Plaza arranged buses to take fans to Central and Mong Kok after the final ended so they could start their work day, HK01 reported. Safeguard press freedom; keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps Make a one-off donation. Hillary Leung is a journalist at Hong Kong Free Press, where she reports on local politics and social issues, and assists with editing. Since joining in late 2021, she has covered the Covid-19 pandemic, political court cases including the 47 democrats national security trial, and challenges faced by minority communities. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Hillary completed her undergraduate degree in journalism and sociology at the University of Hong Kong. She worked at TIME Magazine in 2019, where she wrote about Asia and overnight US news before turning her focus to the protests that began that summer. At Coconuts Hong Kong, she covered general news and wrote features, including about a Black Lives Matter march that drew controversy amid the local pro-democracy movement and two sisters who were born to a domestic worker and lived undocumented for 30 years in Hong Kong. More by Hillary Leung