Delaware North opens frictionless bar at Wembley Stadium as Crystal Palace triumph over Manchester City

Unless you've been living under a rock this past weekend, you will know that the mighty Crystal Palace (and, yes, we make no apologies for our South East London bias) defeated the big budget bores that are Manchester City in the FA Cup Final.

Fans at Wembley Stadium were able to purchase drinks from a frictionless bar, courtesy of Delaware North.

In a LinkedIn post on Saturday, Marco Galer-Reick, VP, UK Strategy Enablement & HR at Delaware, said: "Seamless! Following the success of our first frictionless Bar>>Tap location at Wembley Stadium we are proud to open our second, even bigger store at the FA Cup final.”

“Brilliant work Lewis Blake (Head of Concessions, Wembley Stadium at Delaware North) and thank you for the partnership Joao Pedro Santos (Senior Tech Business Development - Sports & Entertainment, Just Walk Out technology). Go in. Grab your drinks. Get going. Delaware North UK bringing fresh beer to more fans, within seconds. Congratulations to Crystal Palace on winning their first major trophy!"

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Frictionless payments will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards, which are now open for entries, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.