Liberty Wharf FIFA Women’s World Cup Fan Zone
The Government of Jersey, Parish of St Helier and Liberty Wharf teamed together to bring to life Jersey’s first Fan Zone for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Showing the semi-final between England and Australia on Wednesday 16th August, four 55” TV screens were placed in the atrium of the centre, benefiting the al fresco dining areas of The Rigatoni, Seafish Café and Meat and Eat. With a capacity of up to 200 people, the event attracted locals and tourists alike to cheer on their favourite team. Deputy Lucy Stephenson, the Assistant Minister for Sport, hopes the pilot will be a win/win supporting grass roots sports whilst also staging events which support the local economy.
Following the success of the pilot, the Government of Jersey, Parish of St Helier and SandpiperCI increased the capacity of the Liberty Wharf fan zone. Lucy Stephenson said: “People can often remember where they were when historic events or achievements take place around the world, and it would be lovely if hundreds of Islanders can say ‘I was at the Sandpiper Fan Zone when England won the Women’s World Cup for the first time.’
With the addition of Vittoria and its seven screens for the final game, England vs Spain on Sunday 20th August, we were able to increase the total capacity from 200 to 600 for the much-anticipated final. A roaring success, the space reached its capacity with supporters for the Lionesses. Unfortunately, it was not to be for the England team this time around but was a triumph for Liberty Wharf.
Lucy Stephenson contacted SandpiperCI, “I just wanted to say once again a big thank you for your support in bringing together the Fan Zone - Sunday’s event was just as a big success as the semi-final, even if the result wasn’t. Liberty Wharf is a great space and as I sat there watching with three generations of my family. We had some interesting discussions about what else the space would lend itself to.It was also great to see the businesses happy to support one another too.”
We hope to see more of these types of events at the centre in the future.