Beer deliveries surge on World Cup opening day as Chinese football fans cheer on other teams

Chinese fans have lots of teams to choose from to support after the national team failed to qualify for the tournament

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Soccer fans watch the match between Russia vs Saudi Arabia at the opening of the 2018 Fifa World Cup Russia at the AIO SPACE in Beijing on Thursday evening Jun. 14, 2018. 14JUN18 SCMP/Simon Song

Published: 4:51pm, 15 Jun 2018Updated: 4:51pm, 15 Jun 2018

Chinese football fans cheered as Russia thrashed Saudi Arabia in the opening match of the World Cup by quaffing lots of beer and devouring a lot of crustaceans.

Orders placed through the Meituan delivery app surged 40 per cent in the 15 minutes before the whistle on Thursday evening. By the end of the night, 280,000 bottles of beer were delivered, accompanied by 1.53 million crayfish, which are in season.

Vendors sell crayfishes during a massive crayfish banquet in Xuyi, east China's Jiangsu Province, June 13, 2018. Photo: Xinhua

To cater to the expected surge in demand for takeout during the World Cup, which runs until July 15 when the final match takes place, Meituan will run promotions for items such as barbecue skewers, pizza and fried chicken.

The company said it will have riders in 24-hour shifts during the World Cup period to ensure non-stop food delivery services due to the time difference with Russia, where the event is held, according to a Meituan spokesman.

Alibaba Group’s food delivery services on Ele.me, its Tmall platform and Hema supermarkets, are also running similar promotions.