A year of live sport on the big screens at The Approach

The Approach sits in the heart of Nottingham city centre, run by Great Northern Inns Limited as a live music and sports bar that has earned a loyal following among fans who want atmosphere with their fixtures. Multiple HD screens line the walls, the sound system is tuned for crowd noise, and the kitchen turns out Sunday roasts, hand-stretched pizzas, and a steady rotation of drinks promotions that keep the conversation flowing between kick-offs.

For sports lovers, watching a match at home has its comforts, but there is something irreplaceable about sharing the moment with strangers who suddenly feel like family. A late winner in the cup, a world-record sprint down the wing, a putt that finds the round again, all of these land differently when the room rises together. The Approach has built its identity around that shared reaction, opening early on weekend mornings and staying open late into the evening when results dictate. The drinks list leans into the occasion, with cocktails, wines, beers and ales that go beyond the usual pub offering, and a kitchen that turns out more than just chips. Patrons looking for something lighter between fixtures often gravitate towards Italian-inspired snacks, and the venue's cocktail list includes the kind of drinks that pair naturally with Italian bar bites and aperitivo-style servings.

Throughout the past twelve months the bar has hosted screenings of football, rugby, cricket, motorsport, golf and more, alongside live bands, special events and visits from sporting personalities. The mix of pub classic drinks, craft ales, cocktails and decent food means patrons do not have to choose between a proper pint and a proper atmosphere. It is the kind of place where a supporter travelling through Nottingham can walk in alone and leave with match-day friends.

What follows is a look back at ten of the biggest sporting moments screened on the venue's screens over the past year, the nights when the roar was loudest, the pints were raised highest, and the staff lost count of how many times the bar was cleared. Each moment brought its own flavour, its own crowd, and its own reason to lean closer to the screen.

Football's final act

The Premier League title race ran deeper into May than anyone predicted, and The Approach showed every twist. When Manchester City's late surge met Arsenal's stubborn resistance, weekend after weekend the bar filled with supporters of both clubs wearing their colours without apology. The final-day drama, decided by results hundreds of miles apart, had patrons glued to phones and screens in equal measure, and the communal cheer when the title was confirmed rolled out into the street.

The FA Cup final carried its own weight, with the road to Wembley played out across Saturday afternoons in the bar. Earlier kick-off times during winter meant the venue opened for early doors, with the kitchen firing up pizzas and the bar pulling the first ales while teams were still in the tunnel. A packed house watched the trophy lift, and the post-match analysis spilled well into the evening as the staff cleared tables for the live band that was booked later that night.

Away from the English pyramid, the Socceroos made their usual run through World Cup qualifying, and a number of Australian fans based in the East Midlands booked tables for early-morning kick-offs. Conversations between travelling supporters and regulars became a regular feature, with stories swapped about grounds in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane over plates of bar snacks and rounds of cocktails.

Rugby's global stage

The rugby calendar delivered a World Cup year that the bar leaned into heavily. Pool fixtures drew loyal followings from both hemispheres, and the bar's flexible layout meant tables could be rearranged to accommodate supporter groups travelling from across the region. When the southern hemisphere sides met their northern counterparts, the room split along familiar lines, with songs started in one corner answered by songs from another.

The knockout rounds brought the heaviest nights, particularly the quarter-final that pitched the Wallabies against a northern rival. Watching from the other side of the world, fans gathered in Nottingham to back the green and gold, and the collective intake of breath at a missed penalty was almost audible across the venue. Even supporters of opposing sides paused to acknowledge the moment, which is the sort of crossover that makes a sports bar feel like a small United Nations.

Six Nations weekends offered a different rhythm, with earlier kick-offs and a steady stream of regulars claiming their favourite stools by the door. The Approach's weekend live entertainment dovetailed neatly with post-match celebrations, and the Friday-night build-up to Saturday fixtures became as much a part of the routine as the rugby itself. Pint glasses clinked to tries scored in Cardiff, Dublin and Paris as if the cities themselves had followed the team home.

Cricket and the Aussie angle

Few sports suit a long, lazy afternoon in a bar quite like cricket, and the past twelve months delivered an Ashes summer that kept patrons at The Approach from lunch until tea. The contrast between the English wickets of early summer and the heat of a Boxing Day Test at the MCG drew Australians in the city out of their homes and into the bar, and the venue leaned into the occasion with food and drink promotions timed to the innings breaks.

When Australia toured England, the screens showed every ball, and the bar's HD setup meant the spin and seam movement could be tracked clearly from any seat. The crowd divided itself naturally, with green-and-gold scarves appearing alongside the home colours as supporters of both teams discovered common ground over shared platters. A test match in Nottingham is one thing, but a test match in a sports bar with a cold pint is something else entirely.

The Indian Premier League and the Hundred added colour through the summer, with shorter formats suiting the lunch-time crowd who stopped in for a quick bowl before getting back to the afternoon. Sunday roasts paired particularly well with a day of batting, and the kitchen's traditional offerings became a quiet talking point among patrons debating whether Bazball had finally met its match. Cricket, more than any other sport, turned the bar into an all-day social space.

Four wheels and two

Formula One returned with a season that delivered drama on almost every lap, and the bar's screens showed every practice, qualifying and grand prix from Melbourne to Abu Dhabi. Early-morning sessions, broadcast from the other side of the world, drew committed fans who arrived with thermoses and stayed until the chequered flag. The Australian Grand Prix in particular brought out ex-pats and travellers who had once called Albert Park home.

MotoGP added its own brand of theatre, with sprints and main races split across weekend schedules that suited the bar's two-screen layout. The narrow margins of two-wheel racing made for tense viewing, and a last-corner collision in Misano had the entire venue on its feet. The motor sport offering was rounded out by rallying, with the Monte Carlo and Safari stages broadcast on weeknights for the enthusiasts among the regulars.

NASCAR and IndyCar filled the gaps when European motorsport took a break, and the diversity of the calendar meant there was rarely a weekend without an engine note on the sound system. Patrons who arrived for one series often stayed for another, and the staff became expert at explaining the points systems to newcomers who wandered in during a rain delay and ended up staying for the restart.

Beyond the big three

Golf's major season brought the Masters in April, with the final round at Augusta shown on a Sunday that began with brunch and ended well past sunset. The Open at Royal Liverpool drew a similar crowd, and patrons who would never describe themselves as golf fans found themselves caught up in the drama of a leaderboard that changed with every hole. The sport suited the venue's afternoon mood, with food and drink promotions timed to the back nine.

Tennis delivered the Australian Open in January, the only grand slam that felt like it belonged to the bar's southern-hemisphere regulars. Patrons who had been in Melbourne the previous year shared stories between sets, and the venue's late licence meant matches that finished past midnight were followed by slow walks home rather than missed endings. Wimbledon completed the set, with strawberries-and-cream specials on the menu and white outfits encouraged among the more committed regulars.

NFL coverage grew steadily through the autumn, with Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football drawing audiences that skew younger than the football crowds. The shared reaction to a fourth-down conversion looked similar to the reaction to a last-minute try, which is the point. The Approach is, at heart, a venue for watching sport together, and the variety of fixtures on offer means there is rarely a quiet weekend.

What to order between the action

Sports worth booking a table for

The screens stay on, the kitchen stays open, and the staff stays ready. For anyone in Nottingham who wants to catch the next big moment alongside fans who care, https://theapproachnottingham.com/ lists upcoming fixtures, opening hours, and the live music programme that runs after the final whistle. Pop in for a pint, stay for the result, and find out what a Nottingham sports bar looks like when the year delivers.