Chiswick High Road pubs gear up for the football

Mexico v England; FIFA World Cup 2026

Brazil v Norway followed by England v Mexico

Chiswick High Road pubs are gearing up this afternoon for the football tonight. Quite a few will be open for the England v Mexico game which kicks off at 1.00 am.

The George IV, the Hound, the Roebuck and the Packhorse and Talbot are among the pubs on the High Road which will be showing the game on big screens, as well as the Tabard on Bath Road and One Over the Ait beside Kew Bridge, the place to go for live sport on the riverside.

Ben Bullman-Bell. general manager at George IV, told The Chiswick Calendar they had 300 bookings, guaranteeing a seat and a view of a screen. Their courtyard will be closed out of respect to their neighbours, he said, and they would be taking walk-ins but after midnight they would only be allowing in people who had bookings.

It is a busy night with Brazil v Norway on at 9.00 pm, followed by the England match. The government only announced three days ago that pubs would be about to stay open all night, though pubs like George IV where they regularly show sport had already put in their application for special event licence well in advance.

“I plan for England to be in the final and work backwards”, Ben told me. “It’s easier that way”. They get their event licences lined up and then try and persuade people to come and watch regardless of who is playing.

The brief wobble over what time the England v Mexico match would start only caused a minor hiccup, said Ben.

“I am aware there have been some panicked conversations going on, but we do our rota two weeks in advance. People who were down to work overnight volunteered to come in early when it looked like the time would change. They’re a good bunch, they’re prepared to be flexible and they’re invested in it”.

The kitchen will be open until 11.30pm and the pub will close 15 minutes after the final whistle.

One Over the Ait, beside Kew Bridge

Down by the river at One Over the Ait there were already a few Brazil shirts in evidence mid-afternoon. The pub’s usp is live sport of all kinds, so they too were not taking any chances and had put in for a special events licence well in advance, deputy manager Mala Strange told us.

They are fully booked for a seat at a table but are still accepting walk-ins as long as people are prepared to stand.

Staffing had not been in issue for them either, she told me.

“People are really happy to work. We’re looking forward to it. Hopefully it will be a nice evening and we will win”.