City of Toronto unveils plans for FIFA fan festival

TORONTO — The City of Toronto has unveiled plans for a FIFA fan festival that showcases a destination with a reputation for diversity.

Mayor Olivia Chow, Ontario sports minister Neil Lumsden, Toronto’s Executive Director for the FIFA World Cup Sharon Bollenbach and others were on hand for Monday’s announcement 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.

The site will be split into 13 zones, including a FIFA store, a 40-foot viewing screen, eating areas consisting of over 30 food vendors, a 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.

General admission tickets will be free, after a proposal in city council to charge $10 per ticket received backlash. Tickets still have to obtained online and will be available May 6 on Ticketmaster.

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

Abdulhamid Ibrahim, The Canadian Press