14 May 2026
By Harry McMenemy, Trainee Solicitor Corporate, Gilson Gray
With the World Cup this summer drawing ever closer, Edinburgh City Council has moved to ensure that fans can further enjoy the tournament by extending licensing hours. While the licensing changes are expected to provide a much-needed boost to the hospitality sector, it also raises possible concerns, which will be addressed in this article for which licence holders must adhere to, ensuring that they are as prepared as possible.
The Legal Basis for Extension
Edinburgh’s Licensing Board has approved recommendations to allow premises which hold a full premises license, which includes a provision to show televised sport, to remain open until 30 minutes after the end of any World Cup match. Under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 205, local licensing boards have the authority to grant a “general extension” of hours where an event is considered to be of local or national significance.
With Scotland qualifying for the tournament for the first time since 1998, City of Edinburgh’s Licensing Board has determined that this is a worthy occasion to allow supporters a place to gather to watch the games outwith the usual operating hours. With Scotland’s opening game not kicking off till 02:00 GMT against Haiti, and other World Cup games potentially not kicking off till 05:00 GMT, careful planning and consideration are required for licence holders operating outwith their core hours in relation to wellbeing of both their staff and customers.
Extra responsibility for License Holders
The licence holders “must ensure adequate management arrangements are in place, and consider, where appropriate, providing additional stewarding”. This is the message from Edinburgh’s Licensing Board. It is therefore important to correctly identify what this means for you as the licence holder and how these responsibilities are followed to ensure compliance with licensing laws, employment laws and also public safety obligations. These responsibilities may include:
The licence holder should also consider the fact that late night/early morning shifts can increase fatigue and workplace risks. To ensure that this is effectively managed, licence holders should ensure that they have enough well-trained staff to manage the longer trading hours. To ensure that this is effectively managed, adequate staffing with supervision will be essential to ensure that alcohol is served safely and responsibly and that any potential incidents of disorder can be handled efficiently and effectively. Greater numbers of bar staff/supervisors should be considered to help manage the greater footfall of customers. The licence holders also have a responsibility to take reasonable steps to ensure that staff working late at night can leave the premises safely. Taking reasonable steps as the license holder in an attempt to ensure staff have suitable arrangements to get home without being exposed to unnecessary risk should be a key consideration for the licence holder.
Although extended hours create the opportunity for businesses to generate greater revenue, it is also important for licence holders to remember that holding a license holds responsibilities under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, which aims to balance the rights of individuals to drink responsibly versus the need to protect local communities from public disorder associated with alcohol (amongst others). Even when operating under extended hours, venues will still be scrutinised to ensure that they are meeting these objectives and maintaining the same high standards of responsible alcohol service as would also be expected during their core hours.
While Edinburgh City Council’s decision to extend the opening hours for the World Cup reflects Scotland’s monumental achievement in participating in this tournament, it will require that proper planning, adequate staffing and concise management procedures are in place to ensure that all licence holders can take advantage of their extended hours while also maintaining compliance with key objectives under existing licensing legislation.
