Even if their nation didn’t make it to the World Cup, everyone will still has a favourite team when the world's most popular sporting event kicks off on Thursday. For brewery giant Carlsberg, that team is England.
Budweiser is the official beer of the World Cup, but Carlsberg stands to make huge financial gains thanks to the combination of football and beer at the huge event of the summer. The brewery has plenty of campaigns up its sleeve in connection with the tournament – particularly in England.
“Carlsberg and football are very closely connected so we will make loads of campaigns in association with the games,” Peter Giacomello, the head of sponsorship at Carlsberg Denmark, told Jyllands-Posten newspaper.
“Besides, we are a sponsor of the English national team, so we are putting a lot into the event – especially in England.”
READ MORE: So many bars, so many teams … and all those broken dreams
Beer bonanza
During the last World Cup in South Africa in 2010, Carlsberg took advantage of the event to focus on football in about 40 markets around the world, which really boosted sales. Giacomello expects the same results this time around, although much depends on England’s performance.
“The World Cup is a huge event for beer brands,” Keld Strudahl, the head of brand promoters BrandActivators, said. “It’s the biggest ‘Brand Occasion’ in 2014 and the breweries must take advantage of the opportunity.”
Carlsberg is the main beer sponsor for the European Championships, while Heineken has the Champions League, and Budweiser (as mentioned) has the World Cup.
READ MORE: DR lockout threatening World Cup coverage
Big-screen joy
And while the Danes came up short making it to the big dance, there are plenty of options when it comes to watching the games in Copenhagen and beyond – particularly if you fancy seeing the games outside in the cool evening air.
If a lockout doesn’t red-card its plans, national broadcaster DR will show at least one match outside every evening on a big screen at Islands Brygge, where people can enjoy their football along with some Brazilian barbeque and some smooth samba beats to set the mood.
“We want to create a little slice of Brazil in the middle of Copenhagen, where people can come down and feel as if they’re part of the World Cup,” Søren Vestergaard, DR’s head of sports, told DR Nyheder.
“Here we will create a zesty Brazilian grilling atmosphere and of course show all of the evening games on a massive screen.”
Other parts of Denmark can also enjoy some big-screen action, thanks to an arrangement between the national football association and TV2. Aarhus, Odense, Aalborg, Køge, Helsingør, Horsens and Herning are all scheduled pit stops on their World Cup Tour de Denmark.
As part of the tour, the two semi-finals, the third-place match and the final will be shown at Fælledparken in Østerbro, Copenhagen.
