Sweden will participate in the football World Cup this summer on the other side of the Atlantic, which means matches at night in Sweden. Several municipalities in the country have opened up for alcohol serving during Sweden's matches in the football World Cup. Sundsvall municipality has proposed extending serving hours during the World Cup.
The proposal was decided today in the municipal executive board, and the final decision will be made on April 27 in the municipal council. For a bar to be allowed to stay open until 7 AM, the Alcohol and Tobacco Unit must conduct an assessment and relevant measures, and the police will be consulted. The political majority wants to make exceptions to the serving license guidelines and make it easier to do so for special occasions in the future.
The idea is that we should allow serving during the entire time the matches are ongoing.
Norrköping municipality is opening up for bars in the city to be able to stay open longer during the World Cup. Sweden's World Cup premiere on June 15 against Tunisia starts at 8 PM Mexican time, which is 4 AM in Norrköping. According to Norrköpings Tidningar, Christian Widlund, a municipal politician, described the initiative as aiming to allow serving during the entire time the matches are ongoing.
The exact extended serving hours proposed in each municipality have not been specified, and it remains unclear which specific municipalities besides Sundsvall and Norrköping have opened up for such extensions. Additionally, the specific criteria or conditions bars must meet to get approval for extended serving hours, beyond the general regulatory process involving the Alcohol and Tobacco Unit and police consultation, are not detailed. How many bars or establishments are expected to apply for extended serving hours is unknown, and the measures police will implement to ensure safety during these extended hours have not been publicly outlined.