- Includes contributions from eight photographers who have captured moments of social connection in pubs and bars across Europe
- Celebrates the spaces where people come together and the distinctive character of each venue and city
- Coincides with new economic analysis showing tourists spend almost €2.5 billion a year on HEINEKEN beers alone - equating to almost two million beers bought by tourists every day*
Greece: © Enri Canaj/Magnum Photos
AMSTERDAM, Oct. 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HEINEKEN and Magnum Photos have released a photoseries documenting the pubs and bars across Europe that bring locals together and where visitors are made to feel at home.
8 local photographers spent the summer capturing venues in 11 countries for the series dubbed Europe’s Living Rooms. Whether it’s a Greek tavern, a Czech beer hall or a Dutch brown bar, the places may look different but they all share the same shared truth: no matter where you are in the world, you can connect over a beer.
The photography captures a window into bar and pub culture - from crowds spilling onto the streets of Soho outside The Devonshire Arms to grab a beer after work, to different generations grabbing a snack and an ice cold beer next to the Dutch canals.
But the role these venues play extends beyond bringing people together. The launch of the photos comes as new economic data reveals how Europe’s pubs and bars are changing how tourists travel and support a tourism economy worth billions.
The European lifestyle attracts tourists from around the world, contributing an estimated €828billion in tourism spending each year**. At the heart of that appeal are the pubs, bars, cafés and tavernas that offer a window into local life.
With a longstanding presence across Europe’s hospitality and tourism economies, HEINEKEN is shining a light on the important role local venues play in shaping destinations, visitor experiences and local communities. The findings are backed by new economic analysis showing tourism-attributable spending on HEINEKEN's beer portfolio is worth almost €2.5 billion annually - equating to almost two million beers bought by tourists every day. Most of that spending takes place in pubs and bars, highlighting the important role they play in Europe's tourism economy.
Additional consumer research released today finds that more than a third (35%) have visited a particular neighbourhood or area specifically to visit a venue, while one in five (20%) have stayed longer in a destination because of one.
Sometimes spontaneity is key, as over half (52%) discover local venues by simply wandering. The key things that make these venues memorable are the atmosphere (57%), the local food and drink (54%), and the people that they meet (30%).
For many travellers, this is because getting a real taste of a destination means going where local life happens. Nearly three quarters (73%) of European tourists agree you understand a place better when you’ve spent time where locals socialise, while more than three quarters (77%) visited a local pub, bar café or taverna multiple times on their most recent European holiday.
And at the heart of these spaces is something harder to put a price on: social connection. Nearly three quarters (74%) agree these spaces create opportunities for meaningful face-to-face connection that are hard to replicate elsewhere, while more than half (52%) have struck up a conversation with someone they didn’t know in one. Across the photography series, strangers and friends alike are brought together by shared experiences over a beer - from the collective highs and lows of watching the World Cup at Bar Sidi in Madrid to crowds gathering around music at Campo Solar festival in Belgium - these spaces have the unique power to unite people over a glass of cold beer.
Glenn Caton, President of Europe at the HEINEKEN Company, commented: “Tourism is hugely important to Europe, and thriving pubs, bars, cafés and tavernas are part of what makes its cities and neighbourhoods worth visiting. They bring visitors into local communities, support hospitality business and jobs, and give people a reason to explore beyond the traditional tourist trail.
“But their value isn’t only economic. These are places where visitors can experience local life first-hand - meeting people, discovering local culture and becoming part of a community, even if only for an evening. Europe’s Living Rooms celebrates that wider role, and the positive contribution that beer and hospitality make to Europe.”
Marine Mérindol, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Magnum Photos, said: “This project resonated with us so strongly. Magnum photographers immersed themselves at eleven bars across Europe to paint a portrait not just of places, but of the people who make them matter - from the regular who's sat in the same seat for twenty years, to a toast repeated the same way every night, or a football chant that turns a room of strangers into teammates. These are the details that so many miss if they are just passing through. A true understanding of Europe Living Rooms is earned by staying long enough to relate to them, and this is exactly what documentary photography can capture that other mediums can’t. It doesn't just illustrate a place; it witnesses it. Through the collaboration with HEINEKEN, these photographs capture something true about how people in Europe live and connect together.”
Europe’s Living Rooms forms part of HEINEKEN’s wider Story of Beer in Europe - championing the social, cultural and economic value of beer and hospitality across Europe.
View the photos here: https://www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/europes-living-room/
Notes to Editors
For any questions, please contact: heineken@wearetheromans.com
Imagery assets are downloadable HERE.
About the economic data
Sales figures were taken from a study that was conducted by Steward Redqueen and assesses HEINEKEN’s economic impact across Europe in 2025. Using multi-regional input-output modelling, it combines HEINEKEN’s 2025 financial, procurement, employment and commercial data with official economic statistics to estimate GDP contribution and employment supported across its value chain. Indirect impacts are described as supported rather than created, as the analysis does not estimate what economic activity would have occurred in the absence of HEINEKEN. The analysis covers 29 European countries, including 21 HEINEKEN operating markets and eight export-only markets.
About the consumer research
The research was conducted in partnership with OnePoll between 21 August and 2 September 2026, polling 11,000 participants of legal drinking age across 11 European markets (UK, Portugal, Ireland, Spain, Netherlands, Greece, Poland, Austria, Italy, Belgium and Czechia).
OnePoll are company partners of the Market Research Society and certified by Communications Management Standards (CMS).
About HEINEKEN
HEINEKEN is the world's pioneering beer company. We are the leading developer and marketer of premium and non-alcoholic beer and cider brands. Led by the Heineken® brand, we have a portfolio of more than 340 international, regional, local, and specialty beers and ciders. With HEINEKEN’s over 87,000 employees, we brew the joy of true togetherness to inspire a better world. Our dream is to shape the future of beer and beyond to win the hearts of consumers. We are committed to innovation, long-term brand investment, disciplined sales execution, and focused cost management. Through "Brew a Better World", sustainability is embedded in the business. HEINEKEN has a well-balanced geographic footprint with leadership positions in both developed and developing markets. We operate breweries, malteries, cider plants, and other production facilities in more than 70 countries. Most recent information is available on our Company's website, and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.
About Magnum Photos
Magnum Photos is a cooperative of acclaimed, independent photographers who share an ongoing commitment to documenting world events, people, places, daily life and culture. Founded in 1947, Magnum Photos has been telling stories of the past, defining the present, and shaping the future through photography for over 79 years, united by its values of uncompromising excellence, truth, respect and independence. With more than 6.6 million followers across the internet, and a rolling program of museum shows, exhibitions, and events across the globe, Magnum photographers continue to inspire a growing worldwide audience. Find out more at magnumphotos.com.
References
*New consumer research, commissioned by HEINEKEN Company and conducted by OnePoll, August-September 2026. All subsequent consumer research data throughout this release relates to this study.
**Eurostat BoP data on foreign tourist spending for 2024 across HEINEKEN’s 21 operating markets in Europe.
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7d6a58c1-01c5-494b-ad90-5920f41b4be2
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/37af77a3-1580-4753-bd21-27e8f51c7f6f
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/17ef19f8-de7c-4cb2-86c4-91895efcf305
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d7e82343-465a-4e75-98fe-cfbb9335becf
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/42d58644-f2be-44af-a152-aa7414b4e35c
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ee6a910f-d4ca-4f90-92a4-0df85c091cd8
