Pictures from Southport city centre after crowds celebrate The Open 2026

Key Points

• Crowds gathered in Southport city centre on the first day of The Open 2026 to celebrate the championship’s return to Royal Birkdale.
• The celebrations followed day one play at the 154th Open, hosted for the 11th time at Royal Birkdale, with spectators moving from the course into the city’s bars, restaurants and streets.
• A series of pictures shared on social media captured late-night scenes in the city centre, including busy pavements, queues outside venues and groups of golf fans still in tournament merchandise.
• Local and national outlets highlighted the photographs as a snapshot of how the wider community is engaging with The Open and benefiting from increased visitor numbers.
• Authorities and organisers have promoted The Open as a major economic boost to Southport and the Liverpool City Region, with hospitality and retail businesses reporting strong trade on the first day.
• Police and council representatives stressed that crowd management and transport arrangements were in place to accommodate spectators moving between Royal Birkdale and the city centre.
• The images sparked discussion online about the atmosphere in the city, with comments ranging from praise for the lively scenes to concerns about late-night noise and congestion.
• Tourism and business groups say the first night’s celebrations set the tone for a busy week, as The Open continues through the weekend and into its final rounds.

Southport (Liverpool standard) July 19, 2026 – uk/local/southport/">Southport city centre capture crowds celebrating the first day of The Open 2026 at Royal Birkdale. Images shared following the opening day of The Open 2026 show city centre streets in Southport busy well into the night, as golf fans and visitors moved on from Royal Birkdale. Spectators could be seen wearing branded caps, shirts and jackets linked to The Open, many still carrying programme booklets or souvenir bags as they gathered in groups outside pubs and restaurants.

In several photographs, queues formed along main thoroughfares near popular venues, with people standing shoulder to shoulder on pavements illuminated by shopfronts and street lighting. Other images highlighted clusters of supporters posing for pictures, some holding phones aloft to capture the atmosphere, while background details such as signage and flags referenced The Open and Royal Birkdale.

What does The Open 2026 at Royal Birkdale mean for Southport?

The Open 2026 is the 154th staging of golf’s original championship, and Royal Birkdale has been confirmed as the host course, marking the 11th time the venue has staged The Open. Guidance provided by the organisers sets out how Royal Birkdale and Southport are presented together, emphasising the links between the course and the town’s hospitality and tourism sectors.

Reports on day one of the tournament underline that thousands of spectators attended the opening round, with many choosing to stay on in Southport afterwards, contributing to a busy evening in the city centre. Local business representatives and tourism bodies have previously pointed to The Open as a driver of hotel bookings, restaurant reservations and retail footfall, which aligns with the levels of activity visible in the late-night photographs.

How did media and social platforms present the city centre scenes?

Coverage of The Open’s opening day has included curated photo galleries and image-led features, with outlets and photographers focusing on both play on the course and activity away from the fairways. In these galleries, night-time scenes from Southport city centre are set alongside daylight photographs of golfers, spectators and grandstands, illustrating how the championship shapes the town across a full day.

Social media posts containing the city centre pictures often pair the images with short captions noting the first day of The Open and the atmosphere in the town, encouraging sharing and comment. Users have responded with remarks about how busy Southport feels, how long it has been since they saw the town this animated, or how The Open brings an international audience into familiar streets, indicating that the images serve as a focal point for community reaction.

How have businesses responded to the first day of celebrations?

Hospitality businesses in Southport, including pubs, bars, hotels and restaurants, have identified The Open as a period of increased demand, and the scenes captured in the city centre photographs align with these expectations. Industry commentary around previous editions of The Open at Royal Birkdale has emphasised that venues often extend opening hours, bring in additional staff and arrange special menus or viewing areas to cater for golf fans.

The first night’s pictures, showing busy indoor and outdoor spaces, indicate that such preparations are being used, with visible staff presence and outdoor seating areas occupied by groups still discussing the day’s play. Representatives of regional tourism and business organisations have stated that they anticipate strong takings across the week of the championship, suggesting that the initial crowds form part of a broader pattern that will continue as more rounds are completed.

How are authorities managing crowds and transport during The Open?

Organisers, local councils and police forces routinely plan for The Open with detailed transport and crowd management frameworks to handle the movement of spectators between the course and surrounding areas. Statements made in relation to the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale refer to designated park-and-ride schemes, rail and bus services, and pedestrian routes designed to guide people safely to and from Southport.

The late-night city centre images sit within that context, showing large numbers of people but not indicating disorder, which aligns with assurances that additional officers and stewards are deployed during major events. Officials have previously underscored the importance of working with businesses to manage closing times, noise and street cleanliness, and these themes are likely to be relevant as the championship progresses and more evenings resemble the first night’s scenes.

How have local residents reacted to the crowds?

Local reaction to The Open’s presence in Southport tends to mix enthusiasm for the attention and economic benefits with practical concerns about traffic, congestion and noise. Responses to the city centre photographs reflect this blend, with some commenters expressing pride that Southport is hosting one of golf’s leading events and that the town appears lively and well-attended.

Others have raised points about how busy streets may affect routine journeys, how long queues might impact residents trying to access services, and how late-night celebrations could be balanced with the needs of people living in the city centre. Such remarks echo guidance from newswriting and communications specialists, who note that effective reporting on events should acknowledge both human interest and potential areas of tension or debate without oversimplifying community perspectives.

How do the images fit into wider coverage of The Open 2026?

The city centre photographs form part of a broader visual record of The Open 2026, which includes images of players on the course, practice sessions, grandstands, scoreboards and coastal scenery around Royal Birkdale. Photo galleries and multimedia features compiled around the first round have highlighted key moments from play, such as opening tee shots and early leaderboard changes, before shifting attention to how spectators spend time in the town once play finishes.

This approach reflects common guidance on structuring coverage of major sporting events, where the primary focus is on the competition but secondary elements such as fan experience, local impact and supporting activities are also documented. By including city centre scenes, editors and photographers provide readers with a sense of atmosphere beyond the course, portraying The Open as an event that engages Southport’s streets and businesses as well as Royal Birkdale’s fairways and greens.

Background to The Open 2026 at Royal Birkdale

The Open is recognised as golf’s oldest major championship, traditionally staged on links courses in the United Kingdom, with Royal Birkdale among its most frequent venues. The course, located near Southport on England’s north-west coast, has hosted The Open ten times before 2026, with the 154th Open marking its 11th edition at this site, underscoring a longstanding association between the championship and the region.

Announcements confirming Royal Birkdale as the 2026 host emphasised the course’s history, challenging layout and spectator-friendly viewing points, all factors that contribute to strong ticket demand and extensive media coverage. The organisers and local authorities have worked together on infrastructure, transport and commercial planning, aiming to ensure that Southport and surrounding areas can accommodate large visitor numbers, and promotional material has highlighted opportunities for tourism and local business engagement during the championship.

Prediction: How could these celebrations affect Southport residents, businesses and visitors?

The images of crowds celebrating the first day of The Open 2026 suggest that Southport is likely to experience sustained high footfall throughout the championship, which could support hospitality and tourism businesses through increased sales, bookings and brand visibility. Residents may benefit indirectly from this activity via strengthened local employment and investment, but they may also face pressures linked to congestion, noise and demand on public services, particularly in the city centre during evenings.

For visitors, the lively scenes indicate that Southport offers a varied experience beyond the golf course, which could encourage longer stays and repeat trips if services and crowd management remain reliable and accessible. As the championship progresses, the balance between economic opportunity and community comfort will likely shape how residents, businesses and tourists remember The Open 2026, with the first night’s photographs providing an early, visual measure of that relationship.