Not a Fan Zone? Not a Problem! How Any City Can Celebrate the FIFA World Cup 26™

Just 10 Washington cities will host a World Cup 26™ match or official fan zone. If you live in one of the 10, you are getting a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If not, you join the majority 97% of cities and towns, wondering how to best capitalize on this huge moment (when all eyes are on us) and, most of all, how to celebrate the sport.

Fan Zone and host cities have been working with the Seattle Local Organizing Committee (SeattleFWC26) for more than a year in preparation.

For the rest of our cities and towns, we still have a few weeks left to assemble activities, events, and creative ways to celebrate the World Cup™ before matches begin in mid-June and continue all through late July, with six taking place in Seattle. Even if your city or town is smaller, with fewer residents and resources, there are simple and effective strategies you can use to generate excitement for the event and bring your community together.

Prepare for Visitors

About 750,000 visitors are expected to visit our state in June and July to attend matches or just to be in close proximity to favored teams. Visitors to Washington (and possibly neighboring British Columbia, where other matches are taking place) are expected to stay for up to nine days, so they will likely be visiting cities and towns in the east, west, north, and south. To capitalize on this influx, your preparations will need to address local hot spots and communication capabilities.

A quick online search for your top local tourist destinations can get your wheels turning. These destinations will only get busier in June and July around Seattle-based match dates. Coordinate with federal or state agencies to ensure destination parks and historical sites have a plan to manage the influx. Connect with your local chamber of commerce and businesses to ensure they are ready for the crowds. (Share the Small Business Readiness Playbook with them.)

As far as local infrastructure goes, ensure that your parks and public restrooms are clean, staffed, and ready to be restocked. Make a plan for how to staff up should your facilities need more maintenance in the days leading up to and following Seattle-based match days.

Use your agency’s social media accounts and website to provide information and updates on changes to local services, like special park closures for maintenance, right-of-way projects, etc. Critically, be sure to communicate widely about local street projects that may impact traffic. It is recommended to delay construction projects that may have traffic impacts around match time.

If street projects must happen, use of clear, widespread communication and signage are good ideas. For example, when the City of Walla Walla celebrated its Sister City 50^th Anniversary event this past March, it shared street closures widely on social media, including key details, a map of impacted streets, and a contact number.

If your city or town is not a tourist destination for the big game, think of fun ways to build in photo ops. For example, while the City of Redmond is not an official Fan Zone, it is describing itself as a premier destination for visitors through its Ready for the World campaign. The city has recently installed oversized, permanent "Redmond" letters in its Downtown Park to serve as a photo opportunity for visitors.

Make Memories in Your Hometown

Only about 70,000 people will be able to catch World Cup Seattle-based matches in person, so your local residents will be looking for ways to watch the game and participate in the moment. Ensure there is at least one opportunity for local soccer fans to come together and view a match or work with your chamber of commerce to organize a spectator shuttle to a nearby fan zone.

Spokane is hosting a Summer of Soccer centered around the Fan Zone at Riverfront Park. It will be served by the Downtown/North Bank Shuttle (Rt. 11), which loops through downtown, while the rapid transit City Line (Rt. 1) will take visitors to well-known destinations in the city.

A simple swap of light bulbs on city property in partnership with local businesses can light up your town with fun colors during June and July. Seattle has been using purple and gold, and green and teal work well with the Community Brand Playbook.

In the small City of Waitsburg in Eastern Washington, the city-owned fairgrounds will be home base for a local Watch Party on June 19, featuring the USA vs. Australia match. The match will be projected against a building on the fairgrounds and attendees can watch from city picnic benches or bring their own lawn chairs. The event is free and organizers are encouraging local families to attend and bring lunch, since the party will last from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm. Local businesses are donating and facilitating crafts for kids and will be placing soccer goals on the fairgrounds—offering plenty of fun for kids and adults alike.

The watch party organizer is the Waitsburg Commercial Club, the local chamber of commerce, which consulted the official Watch Party Playbook and are planning to host 50 to 100 attendees.

The event was inspired by the soccer-loving son of Brittany Crane, who serves as the President of the Waitsburg Commercial Club. Brittany believed a Waitsburg watch party would be a fun way to bring more awareness to the sport for local youth, especially since Waitsburg High School does not offer soccer as a sport for students.

The city and the commercial club have historically been close partners regarding economic development in Waitsburg. The club is a recipient of the city’s annual lodging tax revenue because it regularly hosts events that bring tourists into town, and for the upcoming June 19 party, the city is waiving fees for the fairgrounds rental in a true public-private partnership to benefit the community.

Waitsburg was lucky to have a partner step up as the event organizer, and other municipalities can encourage local businesses, nonprofits, or associations to sponsor similar events. A good example of this is the City of Bellevue, which has a Planning Events during the World Cup webpage to help others host watch parties within the city, covering local permitting details for parties at a city park or in the public right-of-way and guidance regarding FIFA regulations.

If your local government would like to host a non-commercial event, remember that no formal streaming license is needed for free events up to 1,000 attendees, but FIFA regulations must be followed. The Watch Party Playbook details the dos and don’ts, such as don’t use FIFA logos or slogans (Instead, use creative event names and descriptions without FIFA trademarks).

If you are serving food, work with your local health department to secure the necessary food permits and, above all, be thoughtful and thorough in your communications regarding event details.

And remember, this campaign season, no political public viewing events are allowed.

Conclusion

Knowing the rules can protect your agency, businesses, and community organizations from FIFA legal action and allows you to focus on the fun without unnecessary liability.