Tickets to a free World Cup watch party at Hobart’s Odeon Theatre sold out in around 40 minutes on Thursday morning, with all 750 public tickets snapped up and demand far outstripping supply.
Speaking to Pulse, DarkLab director Leigh Carmichael said at least 100 people were still trying to buy tickets as they sold out.
“There probably would’ve been demand for well over 1,000, possibly 1,500, I reckon,” he said.
The idea for the watch party came from ABC Radio Hobart breakfast presenter Ryk Goddard, who said he was inspired by the excitement at Federation Square during the Socceroos’ thrilling match against Turkiye.
“We suddenly thought, like where is the place to watch in Hobart?” Goddard told Pulse
He said he visited Parliament Square, which he claimed had been promised as Hobart’s answer to Federation Square, to see if fans could gather there.
“It’s not gonna be there … there is massive concrete garden planters, which are lovely, and now they’ve built a new convention center and function center,” he said – saying the site was unsuitable for a large crowd of people to gather.
After hearing of Goddard’s quest, Carmichael then reached out and offered to help – leveraging the Odeon venue and staff who would be on hand from Dark Mofo Night Mass.
He coordinated with the Hobart City Council and paid a licence fee to FIFA to screen the match.
Carmichael said he planned to attend himself, partly to gauge whether larger venues such as the Hang Garden could work for future events.
“I’m interested to see how it works, what the atmosphere’s like, who turns up, you know, what the demographic is,” he said.
Several cafes near the Odeon will open early on Saturday to cater to fans arriving for the 5am kick-off.
Uncle Tony’s Espresso will open from 4:15am, serving their salty iced latte, which they call “the strongest coffee in Hobart to keep all soccer fans full of energy for the game”.
Staple Coffee on Bidencopes Lane will be open from 4:15am and Ed’s Spuntino Cafe & Bar will open at 4:30am.
Straight Up Coffee and Food on Liverpool Street will be offering half price coffees from 7am-8am if Australia wins the match.
A coffee van will also be on site, though Carmichael acknowledged it would not cope with demand on its own.
Carmichael said strong ticket sales sent an important message.
“It’s great to see people take up these opportunities when they arise because it encourages us and council and state governments and other stakeholders to do it more often and find ways to make it happen,” he said.
Goddard said he would give away a small number of remaining tickets on air on Friday morning’s ABC Radio Hobart breakfast program.
He said the event was ultimately about bringing people together.
“It’s going to be a really special experience because the spirit of Night Mass will still be haunting the building as all these people come to do a sport thing,” he said.
He said the response showed a deep community need.
“In a time that can often feel divisive or feel dominated by technology, moments like this are super special.”
The Salty Dog in Kingston will also be opening early to stream the match on their screen.
