With the Six Nations kicking off this Saturday with Wales v Italy, Cardiff prepares as thousands of rugby fans flood to the Welsh capital.
The Millennium Stadium will be at full capacity and thousands more spectators will be watching the game nearby. The city centre’s pubs and restaurants have put preparations in place to be ready for a busy weekend.
Across the road from the stadium is bar and grill, Urban Tap House, and microbrewery and restaurant, Zerodegrees.
Urban Tap House will be holding their very own ale festival in conjunction with the internationals, with games broadcast on three widescreens.
The bar will also offer homemade beef burgers served in a fast-food style to accompany their 300 plus craft beers and ciders.
A wide range of Tiny Rebel, an award-winning Newport brewery craft ale, will also be available.
Assistant manager, Ed Edwards, said: “We had some practice dealing with big events like this during the Autumn Internationals. That was a good insight into what this weekend is going to be like. It should be a big success.”
As it always is on big game days Zerodegrees is fully booked.
To handle the high volume of diners, the restaurant will be offering a special menu, which will include only a selection of dishes from the la carte menu.
There will be plenty of staff to help out including workers from the Bristol branch.
The restaurant is most famous for their beer, and they expect to sell 3,000 litres on the day.
Mario Borkowski, assistant manager, said: “It will be a long and busy day for us. I’ll be working a 14 hour shift but it will be very good for the business.”
The city centre restaurants and bars are not the only ones prepared for the weekend.
While the game is on, Cardiff Council street cleaners will take to the streets for a big clean before the game finishes and the crowds flock to the area.
Road blockages on main roads, such as Westgate Street, allow for this to happen.
Contact centre employee for Waste Management Cardiff, Jack James, said: “We take the opportunity to clean those roads at this time as they’re so busy every day.”
Supermarkets in the city centre will help control binge drinking on the streets during the weekend.
Tesco Metro, on Churchill Way, will be one of many supermarkets in the city centre saturation zone to refuse the buying of alcohol after 8pm.
Wales begin their attempt to win a third successive championship against a much-improved Italian side. England travel to France.
