The lagers were flowing and the drama ran high as all eyes were glued to the big screen. Perhaps a sight to be expected in Wan Chai on the night of the World Cup final.
But Tuesday night's spectators, huddled in a packed bar at the Foreign Correspondents' Club, had gathered for a rarer sight - the live broadcast of Rupert Murdoch's fall from grace.
High-profile figures from the worlds of finance, business and, of course, journalism were not going to miss the quizzing of the media baron.
After all, it is not every day you get to see one of the world's richest and most powerful people, exposed, questioned and scrutinised live on television.
Also facing the music before a UK parliamentary committee were his son - and expected heir to the media empire - James, and former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks.
'The emperor's lost his clothes. A month ago he was this terrifying figure,' said a prominent shipping lawyer perched at the bar.