An Irish pub located in Edinburgh is ‘entering its Cote d’Ivoire era’ after an initial joke turned into reality.
Last month, Biddy Mulligans, which is in the centre of Scotland’s capital city, posted a tongue-in-cheek TikTok about transforming their pub by turning Irish flags upside down to become Ivory Coast ones ahead of the World Cup.
The Republic of Ireland failed to qualify for this summer’s showpiece in the USA, Canada, and Mexico after losing to the Czech Republic in the play-offs on penalties in March.
However, Ivory Coast had no such bother securing their spot at the tournament, doing so back in October.
Biddy Mulligans jokingly posted that they would import African Guinness, replace their Irish cuisine with traditional Ivory Coast snacks, and change the commentary for World Cup matches from English to French.
The video had a disclaimer that stated it was a joke, but the clip soon caught fire and went viral on social media.
Biddy Mulligans in Edinburgh are flipping their Irish flags to turn them into Ivory Coast ones for the World Cup
It quickly accrued hundreds of thousands of views, with the public showing their disappointment at the fact that the boozer was not being serious.
After seeing the upset caused by the fact they would not be following through with their Ivory Coast transformation, the pub called their own bluff.
They posted an ‘apology statement’ in which they confirmed that they will be changing their allegiance from the tricolour to the Ivorian flag, which features the same pattern in reverse order.
Accompanied by another social media video, Biddy Mulligans wrote: ‘What started as “just a joke” has now gone too far… and Biddy Mulligans may officially be entering its Côte d’Ivoire era for the World Cup.
‘The flags are up. The African Guinness is in STOCK. The food is coming straight from @sost_ci. And half the pub suddenly knows all the Ivory Coast chants.
‘Please respect our decision at this difficult time. See you for the World Cup.’
The pub has partnered with Sost Nuts, an Ivorian snacks company, while they have also imported bottles of African Guinness for consumption during Ivory Coast’s matches.
Biddy Mulligans will also play Ivorian music before and after their matches for however long they remain in the tournament.
As p[art of an Ivorian transformation the pub will be supply African Guinness during the tournament
What started out as a joke has led to the pub importing bottles of the ‘Foreign Extra’ and Ivorian snacks
Social media users have expressed their delight at the news, with one user writing: ‘If this is serious and I hope it is, I will definitely go down for some food and a good time!’
Another said: ‘I found the last video funny but now I’m actually happy you’re actually making it happen.’
The African nation are in Group E and will play Germany, Ecuador, and World Cup newcomers Curacao.
