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Cafes fully booked for World Cup matches |
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Sunday, 20 June 2010 08:41 |
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KUWAIT: It is not a usual occasion, it is the World Cup season --an event that is repeated every four years.
The thrill, energy and excitement of spectators extends to the maximum. Knowing that no football fan can watch all of the World Cup matches at home, cafes are crowded with customers attending matches. During the weekends, reservations are required in most places and they are usually fully booked. This unusual situation is noticed more in cafes than malls. Cafes in malls are less crowded, even on weekends. The reason may be that malls close too early or that World Cup matches need a special ambience that cannot be provided in the family friendly malls. Young people are eager to express the thrill, anger, worry, happiness, and excitement of watching a match and probably cannot do so freely in mall cafes. Street cafes welcome their guests with the flags of the countries playing on the entrance of the cafes in addition to special decorations inside that attract guests attention and allow them to fully enjoy themselves. Hotels have their share of attention from World Cup fans too. Khadija Muftah, the Public Relations and Communications manager at Movenpick Hotel and Resort in Bidaa explained to Kuwait Times that the hotel has lots of guests who come to watch the World Cup games. She said that the largest crowds show up for the 5 pm and 9:30 pm matches and added that the events contribute greatly to the hotel. I think it is going well," she said, describing the hotel's situation during the tournament. She said that the hotel has imposed a minimum charge of KD 5 on each table and that special decorations have been put up in the Mahara tent where the matches are watched. A raffle is held every two days for an airline ticket from Wataniya Airways in addition to a free bank account from Gulf Bank. Cafes though, are no less lucky. Operations Manager at Diva's cafe and restaurant, Youssef Ghandour said that the huge crowds were expected. "We had a similar experience in 2006" he explained. He added that Diva's is applying a minimum charge of KD 5 and is receiving guests by reservation. He added that the cafe is fully booked most of the time. Ghadour said that the size of the crowd depends on the importance of the match and that the largest crowds show up for the 5 pm and 9:30 pm matches. This is expected, considering that most people are at work for the 2:30 games. With the fever of the World Cup winding up as the quarter and semi-final matches approach, cafes and hotels are expected to experience thicker crowds and higher profits. - Kuwait Times
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