This past weekend, Flying Fish transformed The Mint Hotel in Sandton into the Flying Fish Vibe Hotel, a 48-hour takeover that reimagined how South Africans celebrate the FIFA World Cup 2026™.
As the O-Fish-Ial Sponsor of the Vibe for the FIFA World Cup 2026™, Flying Fish showed that while football may bring people together, it’s everything that happens around the game that keeps them there.
Guests checked in to more than a hotel. They stepped into an immersive world of interactive rooms, curated social spaces and playful activations designed to turn late-night football into something worth staying up for. Every corner invited discovery. Every moment offered another reason to connect.
The celebration extended beyond the hotel, with guests making their way to Surprisingly Good Sets at Victoria Yards, where music, football and culture came together for a live screening of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ third-place playoff between France and England. Following the match, guests returned to the Flying Fish Vibe Hotel, where the celebration continued through the night before culminating in the weekend’s final tournament match between Argentina and Spain screening back at the hotel.
At the heart of the takeover was a 24-hour live podcast experience, broadcasting continuously as guests dropped in, joined conversations and became part of a live audience throughout the day and night. Those willing to go the distance were challenged to stay awake for the full 24 hours, proving they were truly Up For The Vibe.
The weekend came full circle with the tournament match screening back at the Vibe Hotel, where fans gathered one last time to celebrate the football, the friendships and the moments that made the weekend memorable.
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Throughout the takeover, guests captured and shared their favourite moments using #FIFAWorldCup, #FlyingFishFWC26, #UpForTheVibe and #Ofishial, extending the celebration well beyond the hotel walls.
More than a hotel takeover, the Flying Fish Vibe Hotel demonstrated how the brand’s FIFA World Cup 2026™ sponsorship comes to life. It transformed late-night football into a shared cultural moment—where strangers became friends, conversations flowed as easily as the celebrations, and the best stories happened before kick-off, during the match and long after the final whistle.
Because when Flying Fish is the O-Fish-Ial Sponsor of the Vibe, there’s only one result that matters.
The vibe always lifts the trophy. O-Fish-Ially.
