FIFA World Cup 2026: Vancouver Hosts Seven Matches

[C3YVR]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/202...ada-world-cup?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Socceroos fans feel right at home in Vancouver: ‘Like a hilly Melbourne'

[officedweller]

Good to see tourists coming in for the matches.

[giallo]

Some pics from Granville yesterday

[kikin]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Good to see tourists coming in for the matches.

this is really showing off our city well in a big way, hopefully we can keep the tourist areas clean and safe and the vibe nice going forward after the games, we have so much potential here, Granville reminded me of how good it was 10 years ago, downtown should be a showcase destination for our city, not a place for SRO's and poop on the sidewalks

[madog222]

The first match in Vancouver is now underway.

The RCMP currently have a H145 and a H125 in the air circling over downtown and a UH-60 making a wide circle around the periphery of the Lower Mainland.

[SpongeG]

I didn't know that there were going to be huge parades of countries going to the game. We get to have 6 more of these!

Inside the Aussies March on their way to the game

• Video Link

The Turkiye fans started in Mt Pleasant. Some of the shots on instagram are so cool.

• Video Link

[C3YVR]

How was Vancouver’s World Cup bow?
There has been a growing sense that Vancouver could end up being one of the best host cities of the World Cup. And man oh man, did the city, BC Place and those in attendance come through for Vancouver’s first men’s World Cup game.

Getting inside the venue could be a little more challenging than others: nearby Skytrain stations don’t offer direct access into the stadium. Instead, fans were directed through a lengthy walk around False Creek to get into BC Place. It’s a stunning walk (like every stroll through Vancouver) and in the hours leading up to kick-off, fans maintained high energy as they paced through pre-game nerves. The numerous beer gardens along the walk likely didn’t hurt the atmosphere.

Inside the stadium itself, two things stuck out.

First, the freshly laid grass surface, courtesy of a nearby farm (keep it Canadian!), looked sublime. This is the same stadium that usually has an eyesore of a turf surface. For their first men’s World Cup game, BC Place looked night and day.

Full credit, finally, to the Turkish fans. If the first game hosted in Canada yesterday (Canada 1 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1) will be remembered for an uplifting crowd, the crowd in the second game in Canada will be remembered for being piercing. Deafening roars, booing Australia when they hit the Turkish box; Australian fans had their moments but those in red made their presence known. Put them down as one of the more spirited fan groups of the tournament.

Joshua Kloke

From the NY Times

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7357449...hared_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by madog222

The first match in Vancouver is now underway.

The RCMP currently have a H145 and a H125 in the air circling over downtown and a UH-60 making a wide circle around the periphery of the Lower Mainland.

The Blackhawk seemed to be stuck doing border patrol duty not sure if it came up earlier.

[whatnext]

Interesting looking at hotel rates for next week June 22-24 there doesn’t seem to be much of a bump from the usual (inflated) summer rates. Eg The Parker at $332, the Rosedale at $305.

[madog222]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

The Blackhawk seemed to be stuck doing border patrol duty not sure if it came up earlier.

It had taken off from Boundary Bay Airport, headed to near Horseshoe Bay, passed along the North Shore, continued to around Mission, then back west along the boarder from Abbotsford.

The two above DT left soon after the match started, I guess just for crowd control as people headed to the stadium. Not sure if any were back when the match ended.

[giallo]

Some scenes from the Australia vs Türkiye game last night. Amazing vibes downtown. Everyone was having a blast.

[Alex Mackinnon]

Originally Posted by madog222

The first match in Vancouver is now underway.

The RCMP currently have a H145 and a H125 in the air circling over downtown and a UH-60 making a wide circle around the periphery of the Lower Mainland.

I believe I also saw a CF-18 and a Polaris tanker do a flyby around sunset. They were pretty high up, so I couldn't see much more about the tanker than it being a grey twin jet. The Hornet was pretty obvious though.

[SpongeG]

there were a few boats in false creek, they looked pretty kitted out, were they police or military?

[giallo]

^ This one passed by while I was at Hadden Beach.

[Zepfancouver]

Originally Posted by C3YVR

"How was Vancouver’s World Cup bow?
There has been a growing sense that Vancouver could end up being one of the best host cities of the World Cup. And man oh man, did the city, BC Place and those in attendance come through for Vancouver’s first men’s World Cup game."
...
...

Joshua Kloke

From the NY Times

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7357449...hared_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta

Build it and they will come and have fun...(Greater) Vancouver have always shown themselves at all big events, we should and the world should not be surprise but I must say I was pleasantly surprise and thrill and proud of Day 1.

[WarrenC12]

The fun atmosphere is from the fans and people of the City despite the FIFA crap, not because of it. Turkish fans did their march right past my place and it was awesome.

The "beer garden" outside of Science world was a nice location but very little shade on a hot day and they had a DJ instead of a screen showing the games.

[djmk]

Hate to be that guy that posts negative things on the internet but i have a few things to rant about.

I went to the AUS/TUR game. The lead up to the game was fantastic and everyone seems to arrive early. And then all 54K of us realized we were sitting in a sauna. Holy crap it was hot and the medics must of been busy with all heat related issues. I saw a few people being wheeled out. Of course, that roof could of been opened to fix that issue.

And then it was time to leave and that was a complete disaster. All the regular exists were closed and all 54K people had to leave though a few exits at the same time. We were trapped on the concourse and we were not moving for what seemed to be a very long time.

Eventually, around gate G, people started yelling out to open the doors. I guess the cop at that gate decided that this mob was not in his best interests and opened gate G and then the crowed spilled out.

And the crowd could not spill out because the entire area was gated off and we could not go north up the stairs to Terry Fox plaza so we had to go west around the casino through a small opening just a few meters across. But at least we were moving outside.

And then, thousands of people trying to walk to Stadium or waterfront which were blocked by more gated areas on Robson or by cars.

It was a complete disaster and if anyone knows anything about soccer, they should know about the Hillsborough disaster were 97 people died because of bad crown control. I felt very unsafe. The people around me was great but that stadium had old people, kids, drunk aussies and pissed off Turks. That could of gone sideways.

I firmly believe that the security was beefed up in such a dramatic way that it made it way more dangerous for everyone involved.

[memememe76]

The TSN Booth at Jack Poole Plaza is stunning.

[WarrenC12]

I heard FIFA would not allow the roof to be opened does anybody know the deal with that? It's a great part of the renovated BC Place and a fun experience. The old dome also got very hot for the same reasons, there's a greenhouse effect in there.

Also back to my earlier point about crowds and events. We can handle Taylor Swift and simultaneous Rogers/BC Place events just fine on a random Saturday night. Of course all the extra "security" will limit the movement of people, in a bad way.

[djmk]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

I heard FIFA would not allow the roof to be opened does anybody know the deal with that?

we were told "shadows on the field for TV viewers"

on a 9pm game. lol