Longer licensing hours for the Lionesses

Rebecca Lowe, Partner

Following England’s dramatic comeback win against Italy in the semi-final on Tuesday night, licensed operators and customers alike will be preparing for Sunday’s final against Spain.

Prior to the tournament, the government confirmed a Licensing Hours Order would be issued under s.172 of the Licensing Act 2003 and would apply if the Lionesses reached the latter stages of the tournament.

As such, any premises licensed to sell alcohol until 11pm on Sunday will be permitted to trade an additional 2 hours, until 1am in the early hours of Monday morning. This is despite the relatively early kick off time of 5pm.

No application or notice is needed to take advantage of this extension, operators can simply proceed to trade the additional 2 hours should they wish to do so, provided that they are usually licensed to sell alcohol until 11pm on Sundays. Any premises not licensed to do so cannot take advantage of this extension. It should also be noted that the extension applies only to opening and the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises – so is not for off sales, late night refreshment or regulated entertainment.

However, an extra 2 hours of sales across the bar will no doubt be welcomed by many operators on Sunday. Let’s hope they can be used to celebrate a famous win – come on you Lionesses!