Extra cinema hall added in Rotterdam for sold-out Cape Verde–Argentina screening

Large crowds are expected for the World Cup screening of Cape Verde versus Argentina in Rotterdam on Saturday, with demand now so high that a second auditorium has been opened at Pathé Schouwburgplein, organiser Jorge da Veiga of Voice Events said on Facebook.

Tickets for the first screening room sold out in just 30 minutes on Monday, according to organiser Jorge da Veiga. Demand was so high that the event website briefly crashed due to traffic, he said on Facebook. Additional tickets were therefore released on Tuesday, bringing the total capacity across two halls to almost 900 seats.

Da Veiga has hosted earlier Cape Verde matches at big-screen events at Villa Thalia, but the venue is already booked for next Friday. The organizer, VOICE EVENTS, is officially branding the Pathé screening as "Casa Tubarões Azuis" (House of the Blue Sharks), referencing the national football team's nickname. Da Veiga has marketed the event to the community as creating "the largest Cape Verdean living room in the Netherlands.”

Beyond just showing the match, the cinema experience is being turned into a cultural festival featuring live DJs and special musical acts to cultivate an authentic Cape Verdean party atmosphere inside the theaters.

Kick-off is scheduled for midnight, with the cinema opening its doors at 11:00 p.m. Cape Verde’s strong showing in the World Cup group stage has been celebrated extensively in Rotterdam in recent weeks, a city with a large Cape Verdean community. Six players in the Cape Verde squad are originally from Rotterdam.

This tournament marks Cape Verde’s first-ever appearance at a FIFA World Cup. The massive community hype follows the country's historic group stage performances, which included a thrilling 2-2 draw against football giants Uruguay. That match sparked emotional, overnight street celebrations across Rotterdam after the team scored its first-ever World Cup goal.

The deep ties to Rotterdam are a major driving force for the crowd. Out of the Cape Verde roster, six players were born in the Netherlands, five of whom were born and raised directly in Rotterdam.

For those who cannot secure a ticket to the sold-out Pathé auditoriums, other venues in the city are capitalizing on the demand. For instance, the Rotterdam creative hub OASE is hosting its own parallel screening event called "WKADE at OASE" on the same night. Additionally, a World Cup Fan Zone has been constructed right outside on the Schouwburgplein square itself to accommodate the overflow of fans.