Entertainment

Vault’s World Cup Carnival

The Vault 4

Like many people, I’ve been counting down the days until this World Cup starts. The fact this month-long football extravaganza is being hosted by Brazil, the original carnival throwers, seems to make it even more special. I was determined to make the most of this tournament by watching as many games as possible in cool, interesting and fun bars in London… I also don’t have a television in my house.

 

I watched the opening match, Brazil Vs Croatia in The Vaults in Waterloo. As I entered the graffiti sprayed tunnels leading to this venue, I could hear loud, rhythmic drumming in the distance. As I reached the outside of the venue the carnival atmosphere was already in full swing, with hundreds watching the drummers, or more likely the scantily clad Brazilian dancers. If it’s this good in a tunnel in Waterloo, just imagine the atmosphere over in Brazil.

 

The Vaults is a huge underground space (30,000sqft) that is used for a variety of events from raves, parties to immersive theatrical experiences like their zombie blitz event. But when I want to watch zombies being blitzed, I will watch the England games. The venue has a huge screen showing the games, other smaller screens, upstairs VIP area, table tennis, fuseball and stalls selling Brazilian street food. In addition to the buoyant atmosphere, the bar sells very cheap drinks, £2.50 for a bottle of Sol for example and you get a free drink with your ticket. Yes please.

 

Also if you wear the colours of the team playing you get a further free drink or discounts. It’s great to see a venue embracing the spirit of the World Cup and it was amazing to join the hundreds of Brazilian fans cheering on their team. I get the feeling that it’s written in the stars for Brazil to win this competition to help repair the fractured and volatile national atmosphere there. As if to quickly back up this point the referee awarded a dubious penalty to Brazil and equally dubiously disallowed a Croatia goal. Whilst I felt sorry for Croatia, I really enjoyed the elation of this Brazilian crowd and loved every second here at The Vaults.

 

Tickets are quickly selling out for the other games here, and a hundred people were turned away at the door. Have a look at the list of games showing here. Get your team colours on and head to The Vaults for an unforgettable way to enjoy the biggest global tournament of all time.

 

Look at their website or Twitter page for more info on their tournament coverage.

 

Written by Martin Stocks | @Stocks1986