Thursday February 26th 2026
East Lothian pubs which show live sport will be able to stay open for some World Cup games
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
Pubs which show live sport in East Lothian will be allowed to stay open for all home nation games in the World Cup after it was deemed safer than leaving fans drinking in their houses.
The council’s licensing board today backed plans to grant a general extension to licensed premises to allow them to show the games, including Scotland’s first game which kicks off at 2am.
They had been presented with a variety of options including one preferred by Police Scotland which would have only granted the extension for games which kicked off before 1am meaning pubs would need to apply for a special licence to show games including Scotland’s debut match which starts at 2am.
A police representative told the board that restricting the hours would mean any premises wanting to show later games including the 2am Scotland match would have to apply for extended hours separately allowing them to be made aware of who was opening and ‘resource it accordingly’.
Following discussions in private board members returned to the meeting and said they had decided not to restrict the general extension meaning all 146 venues which show live sport will be able to open for all Home Nation games – including Scotland, England, and if they qualify Wales and Northern Ireland.
Councillor Lee-Anne Menzies said it was better to provide a public place for people to gather than leave them to drink at home.
She said: “By having too many constraints on the licensed premises I worry that more people will drink in their house and in the community I serve that can be problematic in itself and it certainly causes a lot of pain and anguish for families.
“If we don’t offer somewhere in a social setting where other people, or bar staff, have control over your drinking then you’ll revert to house drinking and that is not going to help any of us.
“We all want to celebrate Scotland getting to the World Cup for the first time in 28 years. How far they will go we don’t know yet but I am hopeful they will go all the way.”
Her comments were backed by fellow board member Lachlan Bruce who said he had faith in the licensed trade operators to ensure events go well.
He added: “I think we have fit and proper people running our premises and I am sure they will be able to do their jobs appropriately. It will be up to Police Scotland to ensure they resource it appropriately.”
The board unanimously backed a general extension which stated “For the duration of the Tournament, premises can remain open until 30 minutes after
the conclusion of any Home Nation Fixture.
“This extension will only apply to licensed premises which have both on-sales and have stated within their operating plan that they show televised sports. There is no obligation placed on licence holders to take advantage of these extensions should they not wish to do so.”
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