Across a range of countries, pubs and cognate drinking venues are shrinking in number and being reimagined in function. This paper examines the contemporary “pub crisis” in Ireland, Britain, Hungary, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands and Australia, drawing on academic, policy, media and industry materials gathered during late 2025 and early 2026. It argues that, despite different national histories and drinking cultures, similar pressures recur: rising costs, labour shortages, changing alcohol