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FIFA 2026: Hotels and restaurants in Bengaluru will be allowed to stay open till later than usual on July 14, 15 and 19. Check the new timings here
Chief Minister DK Shivakumar also appealed to Bengaluru residents to cooperate with local authorities during the extended hours. (Reuters/Representative Image)
Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday announced that hotels and restaurants in Bengaluru will be allowed to stay open till 3:30am on three days — July 14, 15 and 19 — extending the usual 1am cut-off to let football fans catch late-night FIFA World Cup matches on big screens.
The relaxation comes after the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) petitioned the state government for extended hours till FIFA 2026 tournament wraps up.
In an X post, Shivakumar said the move would not compromise on public safety, law and order, or citizen convenience. The Chief Minister also appealed to residents to watch the matches responsibly and cooperate with local authorities during the extended hours.
Football inspires millions across the world, and the FIFA World Cup is a celebration that fans eagerly look forward to. Following a request from the National Restaurant Association of India, our government has permitted hotels and restaurants in Bengaluru to extend food service…— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) July 14, 2026
The three dates line up with the closing stretch of the FIFA World Cup 2026, which wraps up with the final on July 19.
Earlier, the NRAI’s Bengaluru Chapter had appealed to the state government to let restaurants stay open till 2:30am on days when World Cup matches are screened. According to a report by The Hindurepresentatives of the NRAI, the Karnataka State Hotels Association (KSHA) and the Bengaluru City Hotel Association met Chief Minister Shivakumar on Monday and handed him a memorandum listing this demand alongside several others.
Restaurants across the city routinely screen matches for customers, and since FIFA fixtures run past the existing 1am cut-off, the association sought a one-time relaxation for the remaining games before the final.
“These matches attract a huge crowd when we screen them at our establishments. Since the matches go on beyond the current 1 am deadline, we have sought a relaxation for these specific days. Two of these matches are scheduled for the weekend, expected to benefit restaurants even more,” the report quoted an NRAI representative as saying.
The hotel associations also pushed for the relief to extend beyond Bengaluru, KSHA president GK Shetty said.
About the Author
Nitya Thirumalai, News Editor at News18.com, writes on Indian and global politics as well as Formula 1. She was Google News Initiative-Columbia Journalism School Fellow in the inaugural Newsroom Leade…Read More
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