Europe’s Living Rooms: HEINEKEN and Magnum Photos Release Photoseries Documenting Europe’s Pubs and Bars

Heineken Europe’s Living Rooms

A good pub tells you a lot about a place. You can read the room, listen to the conversations, see what people are drinking and get a feel for the neighborhood without needing a guidebook or a carefully planned itinerary. Across Europe, pubs, bars, cafés and tavernas remain places where visitors can experience local life, and HEINEKEN is putting that idea at the center of a new photography project.

The company has teamed up with Magnum Photos for Europe’s Living Rooms, a series featuring eight local photographers documenting pubs and bars across 11 European countries. The project looks beyond the familiar tourist attractions to capture the people, settings and everyday moments that make these venues part of a community. From a traditional Greek taverna to neighborhood bars in the Netherlands and Madrid, the photographs focus on places where locals gather and visitors can get a more personal view of the culture around them.

There is some research behind the idea, too. According to consumer findings cited by HEINEKEN, 77% of respondents said they visited a local pub, bar, café or taverna multiple times during their most recent European holiday, while 73% agreed that spending time in places where locals socialize helps them understand a destination better. The numbers support something travelers often discover on their own: sometimes the most memorable part of a trip happens after the sightseeing is over, when you sit down somewhere and start talking to people.

That connection between travel and local hospitality is the focus of Europe’s Living Rooms. The project also examines the economic role pubs and bars play in European tourism, including the spending associated with HEINEKEN beers across the company’s markets. But the photographs bring the story back to the places themselves, showing the character, atmosphere and human connections that keep these venues relevant. Here is HEINEKEN and Magnum Photos’ announcement about the project and the European pubs and bars it set out to document.

• 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*
  

AMSTERDAM, Oct. 28, 2026- 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/

Related news from mybeerbuzz.com:
For readers interested in the connection between beer, hospitality and the places where people gather, this story fits naturally alongside MyBeerBuzz’s coverage of beer culture, brewery news and the changing role of pubs and taprooms. You can connect it to the site’s existing coverage of European beer traditions, international brewing companies, brewery taprooms and the social side of craft beer.

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.

HEINEKEN is one of the world’s major brewing companies, with a history rooted in Amsterdam and a portfolio that spans international beer brands, regional favourites, local specialties, cider and non-alcoholic beverages. The company traces its origins to 1864, when Gerard Adriaan Heineken acquired a brewery in Amsterdam and began developing the business that would eventually grow into a global brewing operation.

Today, HEINEKEN operates in more than 70 countries and sells its brands across markets around the world. Its portfolio includes more than 340 beers and ciders, led by Heineken®, alongside international brands such as Amstel, Birra Moretti, Desperados, Sol, Tiger and other regional and local beers. The company employs more than 87,000 people and works across brewing, production, distribution, marketing and hospitality-related commercial activities.

A global brewer with local roots

Although HEINEKEN operates internationally, local beer traditions remain an important part of its business. Beer is produced, sold and enjoyed differently across countries, and the company works with a range of international and local brands to serve those markets. From established European beer cultures to rapidly developing markets elsewhere, its operations reflect the different tastes, customs and drinking occasions that shape consumer choices.

That relationship between global scale and local identity is part of the story behind Europe’s Living Rooms, the photography project created with Magnum Photos. The series examines how pubs, bars, cafés and tavernas contribute to everyday life in communities across Europe. These establishments are not simply places where beer is sold; they can also be neighbourhood meeting points, gathering places for sports fans and informal spaces where visitors experience local customs.

For HEINEKEN, highlighting these venues offers a way to connect beer with the wider hospitality and tourism economy. Restaurants, pubs and bars support jobs, serve local customers and help visitors experience a destination beyond its most familiar attractions. Their importance is particularly visible in European cities and towns where a neighbourhood pub or traditional tavern remains part of the area’s social identity.

The Heineken brand and its wider portfolio

The Heineken® brand is the company’s best-known international beer, recognised for its green packaging and red star. Alongside this flagship brand, HEINEKEN manages an extensive collection of beers designed for different markets and occasions. These include established lagers, premium brands, regional specialties and non-alcoholic products.

The company’s broader portfolio helps it serve consumers with different preferences while maintaining a strong presence in the beer category. In recent years, non-alcoholic beer has become an increasingly visible part of its offering, giving consumers another option when they want the familiar beer experience without alcohol. Product development, brand investment and distribution remain important parts of how HEINEKEN competes in a global market.

The company also works with hospitality customers, including bars, restaurants, hotels and other venues that serve beer directly to consumers. Those relationships connect brewing operations with the places where people gather, from neighbourhood bars to busy tourist destinations. In many markets, the hospitality channel is an important part of the wider beer business because it provides a setting for consumers to discover brands and experience local drinking traditions.

Beer, hospitality and European tourism

Europe’s pub and bar culture varies considerably by country. A traditional British pub, a Dutch brown café, a Czech beer hall and a Greek taverna each have their own atmosphere, customs and place in community life. Yet these venues often share a basic role: bringing people together over food, drinks, conversation, music or sport.

HEINEKEN’s Europe’s Living Rooms project explores that common ground through documentary photography. Eight photographers captured venues in 11 countries, focusing on the people and everyday details that make each location distinctive. The images show how social experiences can become part of a traveller’s understanding of a city, whether through an evening spent with locals or an unexpected conversation in a bar.

The project was released alongside economic analysis estimating that tourism-related spending on HEINEKEN’s beer portfolio approaches €2.5 billion annually. Consumer research conducted for the company also found that many European tourists seek out local hospitality venues and return to them during their trips. While the figures reflect the company’s research and methodology, they illustrate the commercial relationship between tourism, beer and hospitality.

Sustainability and the future of brewing

HEINEKEN’s stated sustainability programme, Brew a Better World, addresses the environmental and social impacts associated with its operations. Its work covers areas including water, energy, emissions, sourcing and responsible consumption. These issues affect brewing at every stage, from agricultural ingredients and packaging to production, distribution and the venues where beverages are served.

As a global brewer, HEINEKEN faces the challenge of meeting changing consumer expectations while managing resources and maintaining its position across diverse markets. The company continues to invest in its brands, product portfolio and operating capabilities while pursuing its longer-term business and sustainability ambitions.

Learn more about HEINEKEN

HEINEKEN’s history combines a long-established brewing tradition with an international business serving consumers in many markets. Its brands remain part of everyday life in pubs, bars, restaurants and homes, while projects such as Europe’s Living Rooms draw attention to the communities and social settings that surround beer culture.

For company information, brand details, news and sustainability updates, visit the official HEINEKEN website.

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.

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