Seattle Center to host massive World Cup Fan Celebration in 2026

SEATTLE — Consider it a “World’s Fair” at the old World’s Fair site and attempt to recreate the impact from ’62 in ’26.

Seattle’s World Cup Organizing Committee will hold its biggest public event, other than the games, at Seattle Center instead of the city’s waterfront.

Organizing Committee CEO Peter Tomozawa told KOMO News a long-planned “fan celebration” will be on the center grounds, extending from MoPop to Fisher Pavilion, and to the Pacific Science Center. It will be formally announced by the committee, and Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell on Tuesday morning.

Tomozawa said in an interview that the decision was made after meeting with security and staging officials who expressed concerns about executing such an event on the city’s waterfront. He said the staging will be built out to involve 30,000 people a day in June and July of 2026.

“We know how to secure it. We know how to host big events there. We’re excited to work with our partners at the Seattle Center, and around the community on that,” Tomozawa told KOMO News.

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Tomozawa said the major decision by the organizing committee is not a reflection of the waterfront park, scheduled to be completed by 2025. The Overlook Walk opens there later this week.

“We’re playing really into the whole idea of activating the entire city. At the very south end of where the World Cup footprint will be it’s the stadium, and sort of anchoring it to the north is now the Seattle Center. Then, we’re going to really kind of create and drive activation revitalization through the core of the center of the city and the waterfront,” Tomozawa said, noting that access to the monorail and light rail were also important in the decision.

The grounds will host live concerts and viewing parties for the entire World Cup. Seattle will host six matches in all, and seven more will be held just up I-5 in Vancouver, making the city a hub for international travelers.

Tomozawa also offered that the decision speaks to the long-term legacy goals of the event. “One of the things we’d like to do is revitalize Pacific Science Center. It’s right next door to the Fisher Pavilion. We thought that that would be a fantastic way to celebrate children and use soccer as sort of the center of getting interested in the sciences and the Pacific Science Center, which was such a wonderful legacy in 1962 is, most people would agree, in need of a revitalization, and we are willing to lend a hand to that,” he said.

He also said conversations will be had with the operators of Climate Pledge Arena on potential partnerships. The Memorial Stadium project on the Center grounds is not expected to be completed in time for the event.

Tomozawa has often said the event will be like hosting six Super Bowls in a month, with just as many people watching on television. The 2026 World Cup will be the biggest yet, with three host countries, 16 host cities, 48 teams, and 104 matches across North America.

RELATED | Seattle to host 6 FIFA World Cup matches in 2026

The 74-acre Seattle Center campus was created for the 1962 World’s Fair and includes the Science Center, arena, International Fountain, stadium, and a broad range of arts and cultural organizations.

On Saturday, FIFA also announced that Seattle will play host to multiple matches in the Club World Cup in the summer of 2025.

While the Seattle World Cup Organizing Committee has made multiple announcements about legacy partners and community fields, the fan celebration is by far the biggest piece of the puzzle and will require the most advance planning.