Getty ImagesBar owners in Cardiff saw their sales “skyrocket” as a result of the Oasis reunion tour which kickstarted at the Principality Stadium.
The two gigs in the capital generated more than £4m for city centre venues with more than 810,000 pints pulled across the two days, according to trade body UK Hospitality.
Fans of the band were treated to an electric performance at the first shows of the tour held at the Principality Stadium.
It follows after some in the industry said they were “struggling to survive” earlier this year as a result of rising costs.
Tia Brooks, 28, is the assistant manager of the Zerodegrees Microbrewery which sits just opposite the Principality Stadium.
She said they “quadrupled” their sales as a result of the Oasis gigs making £11,500 on the Friday alone.
“Most weekends we are not as busy but this was the biggest event of the year so far for us,” she said.
Ms Brooks said the bar managed to increase their capacity to fit in “as many people as possible” in a safe manner.
“I don’t know off the top of my head but it probably increased by at least 150 people.”
While she does not think the bar is “overly-reliant” on big events, Ms Brooks said they “definitely” did help considering the close proximity to the stadium.
Tom Hughes, 27, assistant manager of O’Neill’s on St Mary Street, said the weekend “couldn’t have gone any better”.
“Everyone was singing every word to every song. The energy was incredible the place was packed,” he said.
According to Mr Hughes the bar made “more than double” what they would usually take on a weekend, adding these events are “extremely important” for venues to sustain themselves during quiet periods of the year.
“Cardiff seems to be a very trendy place for artist to come and it’s huge for us to get your name out there and make sure that you’re making money,” he said.
Mr Hughes said it had also been “good for our morale”.
“You want people to want to come here, so knowing that there’s big names in the stadium and people choose your bar before they go there is great.”
It was not a supersonic weekend for everyone, however, with hospitality workers understandably stressed about the sheer volume of customers.
Meg Moore, 24, has worked at The Philharmonic in the centre for a few months and described her 12-hour Oasis shift as “rough”.
“I think we were quite prepared but it came out of nowhere. I turned around and it was just absolutely packed,” she said.
She said there was not a gap at the bar “until later on in the night”.
Luckily her manager was on hand to keep the staff members fuelled throughout the day.
“They gave us pizza and stuff which was so helpful,” she said.
With Kendrick Lamar coming to Cardiff this weekend there is little time to rest.
So how is she preparing for the next big gig?
“I think it will be the same. Just emotionally prepping really and I’ll be ready to go.”
Nick Newman, chairman of the Cardiff Licensees Forum which represents around 100 on-licensed premises, has worked in the city centre for more than 40 years.
He said these “marquee weekends” were a “major economic drive” for Cardiff.
“The atmosphere is unbelievable. It felt like a festival out there in the city centre,” he said of the Oasis gigs.
Getty ImagesIt comes at a “difficult time” for the industry with smaller, independent venues feeling the pinch in particular, according to Mr Newman.
He said it made events like the Oasis reunion, which bring “visitors from all over the world”, even more important for the industry.
“It makes people want to come to Cardiff and hopefully they come back,” he added.
Kate Nicholls, chair of UKHospitality, said the gigs had provided a “much-needed boost to trade” as one of the most profitable weekends for the sector in the city this year.
“We hope to see this continue throughout the remaining Oasis shows over the next few weeks,” she added.