City of Toronto unveils plans for ‘World in a City’ FIFA fan festival

TORONTO — It will be a one-and-done festival, but one the City of Toronto has great expectations for.

Toronto’s FIFA fan festival plans were unveiled Monday, with Mayor Olivia Chow, Ontario sports minister Neil Lumsden, Toronto’s Executive Director for the FIFA World Cup Sharon Bollenbach and others on hand at the Fort York National Historic Site.

The event, which organizers say will showcase Toronto as “The World in a City,” will run for the duration of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, from June 11 to July 19. The festival space will be shared by the Bentway, a public space underneath the Gardiner Expressway.

“When you talk about this phenomenal event and all the work that the city and the province and the government of Ontario’s time is putting in and money, what it is going to do is about creating this experience,” Lumsden said. “Very few in the world will have the opportunity to do, and we’re so lucky to have it.”

The site will be split into 13 zones, including a FIFA store, a 40-foot viewing screen, multiple eating areas which will consist of over 30 food vendors, an Indigenous marketplace, a mini soccer pitch and a pitchside terrace.

There will also be defined entry points and circulation routes to help people move around efficiently. Bollenbach shared that there would be no general parking at either venue and that fans are encouraged to use public transit, to walk or cycle.

Bollenbach expressed confidence in the city’s mobility plan being a success.

“We actually look at that as an advantage in terms of having people come together and having the ability to walk to and from both venues and be in (core) downtown,” she said. “That was one of the rationale for actually selecting this site besides its beautiful space.”

General admission tickets will be made free after a city council proposal to charge $10 per ticket received backlash.

In addition, 500 tickets will be reserved per day for community distribution through local youth and community organizations to support access, with fans also being able to purchase three distinct premium packages.

Tickets still have to obtained online — organizers say to aid with crowd control — and will be available May 6 on Ticketmaster.

“I’ve said very clearly that from day one when the bid became public and when I became the mayor, I said that we need to have this entire experience as accessible as ever,” Chow said. “We want people to have the opportunity, no matter what is your income, how many children you may want to bring here, to not have financial barriers.

“So we are supportive of that and that is why the fees are free. Now you have to book a ticket because initially it was all going to be you know just come and it was clear that from the security point of view that would not be the most appropriate way.”

Chow expressed little concern for the city’s ability to manage crowds of around 20,000 on each day of the festival.

“Taylor Swift came in (2024), 50,000 people right in the stadium, OK? But at the same time, there was a (Toronto) Raptors game,” Chow said. “… The stadium (BMO Field) is (45,000) people and here 20,000 … we can handle that. That’s 65,000.”

Toronto is set to host six games, with Canada playing its opener at Toronto Stadium on June 12. The last of the games will be a round of 32 match on July 2.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026.

Abdulhamid Ibrahim, The Canadian Press