TORONTO – Torontonians are bracing for a big international event that will hit the city in just a matter of weeks.
It will involve multiple countries, bring streets to a standstill and draw microscopic attention from the public and media alike.
No, it’s not the G20 Summit of world leaders that will lock down Toronto’s downtown core between June 26 and June 27.
After all, would Toronto deputy mayor Joe Pantalone motion for bars to have extended alcohol serving hours so people can toast a bunch of world leaders?
The motion, which city council unanimously passed Wednesday, comes as Toronto prepares to celebrate the FIFA World Cup.
The World Cup makes Toronto, one of the world’s most multicultural cities, a special place to be for an entire month as many neighborhoods come to a virtual standstill. Bars and cafes in Toronto’s signature ethnic communities, Corso Italia, Greektown, Little Portugal and Koreatown, will be teeming with soccer fans and casual observers alike decked in their favorite team’s jerseys.
And this time, with soccer’s growing popularity in Canada and airtimes in the morning and afternoon, the celebration will likely be the biggest yet.
That doesn’t concern Rocco Mastrangelo, owner of Café Diplomatico, one of Toronto’s most popular soccer bars.
His eatery in the heart of trendy Little Italy will be soccer central and ready to ring in the world’s biggest sporting event in a big way. Aside from screening games on multiple screens inside, Diplomatico will have a slew of promotions and distribute 10,000 collectible schedule placemats for patrons. For the final and Taste of Little Italy street festival (June 18 to 20), the eatery will have a 300-seat tented street patio equipped with plasma TVs and satellite bars.
“Toronto is multicultural; Little Italy is the hub of multiculturalism and the Diplomatico has every ethnic background,” said Mastrangelo. “We’re in the vicinity of a whole bunch of places like Little Korea, Chinatown, Little Portugal, so we’re central to a lot of other small neighborhoods around us, so it’s good to see and the city’s going to be alive.”
Café Diplomatico has become so popular that big companies including Puma, Coca Cola, Amsterdam Brewing Company and others have come on board as sponsors. Even Emirates, a FIFA global partner, is also in on the action for the first time with plans to host a media event on June 25.
Another favorite watering hole, Scallywags, in midtown Toronto will also be primed.
The popular English hangout just installed 26 new flatscreen TVs across its three levels to bring HD images to as many as 400 fans.
“The biggest change is all the new TVs, everything is brand new from top to bottom,” said general manager Rick Thompson on Scallywags’ plan. “We’re gonna try, but maybe for certain teams that play, we’ll maybe feature a dish for that nation, which is in the works as well.”
Like Café Diplomatico, Scallywags will attract a broad range of supporters.
“Scallywags takes a lot of pride in the fact that all the teams seem to be able to come together, unlike perhaps in England where two factions can’t even be in the same neighborhood together,” Thompson said. “They all come in here and get along, there’s no fights, we take a lot of pride in that.”
Those unlucky to get a coveted seat in either establishment will have the chance to get their World Cup fix at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Soccer Nation event, set to visit nine cities across the country.
Fans will be able to test their soccer skills on a street pitch, call their own play-by-play of a World Cup broadcast, view exhibits on the history of soccer and play interactive soccer games for prizes, among other activities.
Soccer Nation will also include performances from freestylers, concerts by Canadian artists and large screens showing matches live from South Africa, according to Melina Corvaglia, Senior Manager, Brand Activation.
Situated outside CBC’s downtown headquarters, the mobile soccer festival will take place in Toronto on June 11 and again from July 10 to 11.
The network and will show all 64 matches live (four will be on its sister network, Bold) and in HD with pre-game coverage starting at 7 a.m. EST.
Pantalone, an avid Italy fan, got approval for bars to start serving at 10 a.m. instead of the usual 11 a.m.
With Toronto’s excitement for the World Cup, 10 a.m. won’t come soon enough for both fans and bar owners.
