Case study

How London’s Hackney x Brick Lane Fan Zone built a sell-out World Cup experience

8 min read

Written by Dale Grogan

13 Aug 2026

Promoters

Hackney x Brick Lane Fan Zone

Genres

Sport

For London’s Hackney x Brick Lane Fan Zone, this World Cup was proof of what happens when an ambitious event with a strong community links up with the right ticketing partner. Every fixture of England’s campaign sold out days in advance, creating the kind of urgency event organisers spend years trying to build.

But luck played no part in this event brand’s results. This year’s tournament was the next chapter in a fan-zone story that began at EURO 2024, when the team had no established audience, no event legacy and only one clear goal in mind: build a crowd that wanted to return.

“We understood from the outset of the EUROs, and from our very first screening event at our previous venue, the Pony Warehouse in Hackney, that creating a community of returning football fans would be integral to the success of our events during this year’s World Cup.”

Hackney x Brick Lane Fan Zone team

The move to Brick Lane’s Truman Brewery gave the team the space and infrastructure to deliver a bigger, more ambitious fan zone than they had previously staged.

With its established production pedigree, increased capacity and expansive indoor and outdoor space, the venue offered fans a more comfortable experience. Crucially, it also provided cover from the unpredictable British summer.

What set the Hackney x Brick Lane Fan Zone apart was its attention to detail. The team paid particular attention to the first interactions with their guests, designing smooth, painless entry at the doors, utilising Skiddle’s free barcode scanning solution, RapidScan, while making sure queues at the bar were kept to a minimum. They also ensured each guest had an uninterrupted view of each game, and that the quality of entertainment in the moments before, in between and after the football was of a high standard.

Giving fans flexibility was also a key concern. Three ticket options – inside seating, inside standing, and outside seating – were made available, offering fans more choice while maintaining a premium, high-energy atmosphere.

“Slick entry, small bar queues, amazing DJs and a good view of the match are all so important to making the Hackney x Brick Lane Fan Zone vibe what it is.”

Major sporting tournaments like the EUROs and the World Cup are notoriously difficult to promote. Fixtures change, teams progress or get eliminated unexpectedly, and demand can surge overnight, particularly when the knockout rounds begin.

Hackney x Brick Lane Fan Zone met that challenge with a simple but effective approach: prepare for every eventuality, then move quickly while excitement is at its peak.

“For the knockout rounds especially, launch tickets to the next event straight after the game. Harness the good vibes of your core audience to get them back in the venue for the next fixture.”

When it came to England’s progression through the tournament, the team collectively treated every game as a final. This helped to sharpen their focus and meant that when the demand arrived, they were on their toes, ready to capture it.

Content captured during UEFA EURO 2024 also played a huge role in attracting new audiences, giving prospective guests a glimpse of the atmosphere they could be part of during this year’s tournament. Alongside this, the team spread the word organically through their most loyal fans and friendship groups, while ensuring regulars always had first access to tickets.

That balance paid off. Every game sold out with days to spare, easing the pressure on the campaign and creating a powerful sell-out culture around the brand.

“When we posted ticket warnings, people listened.”

With kick-off times and ticket demand changing at short notice, promoters required control of their listings without unnecessary admin or approval. Using Skiddle’s Promotion Centre, the team were able to create and manage their events from their phones, making on-the-fly changes quickly and easily.

The Skiddle Promotion Centre also offered the team a range of free-to-use marketing tools which helped to quickly convert post-match excitement into new bookings.

Automatic Brand Alerts notified engaged followers and those who’d bought tickets to previous events when a new event had been added to the Hackney x Brick Lane Fan Zone’s event page.

The team also made use of Skiddle’s organic reach opportunities, gaining inclusion in search-optimised content and Skiddle’s What’s On guide, which helped get their events in front of prospective new fans, making discovery simpler without adding another costly layer to the campaign.

“Knowing that Brand Alerts would go out as soon as I made an event live and our fans would be notified of the next game tickets was fantastic and had a great conversion rate. It's vital to have certain features that take some of the workload off you as a promoter.”

As with any event, generating strong ticket sales is only half the job. A packed event still needs to feel effortless for the people attending it.

Ticket sales data available via the Skiddle Promotion Centre gave the team a clearer picture of when customers were buying and who to target as demand evolved. Crucially, in terms of event management, RapidScan analysis helped the team to spot peak arrival periods and
adapt their entry and staffing operation accordingly.

“We could see buying habits in real time; the RapidScan app also allowed us to double up on door scanners at peak times, ensuring everyone got in fast and the customer had the best possible start to the event.”

For live sports events, there is no room for a slow response. Fixtures and campaign plans can change at short notice, so dependable support is as important as the platform on which events and tickets are listed.

With Skiddle’s account management and marketing teams on hand, the team had access to practical help when they needed it – whether planning marketing activity through the platform, responding to last-minute changes or keeping the campaign moving.

“The nature of these events is fast-paced and unpredictable, especially with dates and timings, as we all saw throughout the World Cup. Having someone on hand to help make last-minute changes and to assist us with our marketing was invaluable. ”

After two tournaments, the team has refined a formula that works: build and reward a loyal community, deliver an experience worth returning for, and be ready to act the moment demand appears.

With UEFA Euro 2028 on the horizon, Hackney x Brick Lane Fan Zone is not looking to reinvent the wheel. The focus is on building on its successful model, and, perhaps, hoping England can finally go one step further.