Where normally street Stratumseind and the Markt in Eindhoven turn completely orange during a World Cup football, people are now looking for a café where the football tournament can be watched on large screens. “It’s not alive yet,” say the catering people. Still, some cafes try to make the best of it and lure customers with five minutes of free beer, if the Netherlands scores.
Hardly any orange decoration or Dutch flag to be seen on the Stratumseind. On Monday afternoon, just before the first match of the Orange squad against Senegal, the nightlife street is empty and deserted. An exception is café De Spijker. Outside is a sign announcing that free beer will be tapped for five minutes if the Netherlands scores a goal.
“I think everyone is still a bit careful. We are all looking forward to it, but it is still a different World Cup than usual,” says Tren Braat of Stadscafé De Spijker. “If we still want to go in with a bang, then we should do it this way, we thought,” he says about the campaign to tap free beer if the Netherlands scores. “We’re having a party.”
According to Tren, the fact that the World Cup is not yet alive has several causes. “We have all followed the news,” he says, referring to the abuses surrounding the World Cup in Qatar. “In addition, it is in the winter, which is very different from the summer when people can stand outside. And the time: the Dutch team plays at five o’clock, which is of course not favorable either.”
They are also ready for the World Cup just down the road at Café Monkeys. Proprietor Maxime is standing behind the bar in an orange football shirt. “Of course it’s a bad time, Monday afternoon in the winter,” says the catering man. Maxime hopes that people will still get the World Cup jitters. Outside on the terrace and inside, the matches can be followed on large screens: “The music goes off when the Dutch team plays and the sound of the TVs is on. We still want to give people the experience that belongs to a World Cup. Maxime expects Monday in any case that few that hard supporters come to watch.
The World Cup atmosphere is also far from being found on the Markt in Eindhoven. An exception is café De Wildeman. Melle Raben of De Wildeman is in an orange shirt serving people on the terrace, where there are also orange flags. There is a large screen inside to follow the matches. “It has yet to get going, but we are ready and looking forward to it,” says Raben. According to him, the negative image of host country Qatar also plays a role. “There are people who have a problem with that.”
The fact that the tournament is not held in the summer also plays tricks on the catering industry, Melle thinks. “It’s a completely different experience than usual.” Still, he sees it positively: “I think that when we have had the first game, we will all stand behind the Orange again and then we will all blow again.”