Local businesses feared the worst but the match day rush will be back for Saturday’s Six Nations showdown in the capital city
There is nowhere in the UK like Cardiff on a match day, and nothing in the UK quite like the atmosphere at the Principality Stadium when Wales are playing well. On Friday they were laying out the railings outside Cardiff Central station, ready for the rush, and rolling the last kegs off the lorries into the pub cellars along Westgate and St Mary’s. “If I’m honest, I never really believed the strike was going to go ahead,” says Gary Corp, the landlord at the City Arms, just over the road from the stadium. “It’s money that makes the world go around, isn’t it?” he shouts as he pops back to the cellar, “And there’s too much at stake.”
They say the game’s worth around £10m to the Welsh Rugby Union, and more than double that to the local economy. Back in 2017, it was estimated that a Wales home games generate £26m. It is one of the biggest days of the year here.