87,000 attended Vancouver's free FIFA World Cup Fan Festival over first four days | Daily Hive

Over 87,000 people attended Vancouver's free FIFA World Cup Fan Festival over the first four days

Canada's opener at the PNE amphitheatre at the FIFA World Cup Fan Festival on June 12, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

The first four days of Vancouver’s official FIFA Fan Festival — anchored by its programming of free live match screenings in a highly festive atmosphere — have drawn tens of thousands of visitors through the gates, highlighting the strong early enthusiasm surrounding the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

According to attendance figures provided to Daily Hive Urbanized upon inquiry, a cumulative 87,380 people attended the free fan festival at the PNE fairgrounds in Hastings Park between Thursday, June 11 — when the tournament kicked off in North America — and Sunday, June 14.

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The festival’s opening day on Thursday, June 11 attracted 16,036 attendees (Mexico vs. South Africa and South Korea vs. Czechia). This was followed by 19,839 visitors on Friday, June 12 (Canada vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina and U.S.A. vs. Paraguay), which was the day of the opening matches and ceremonies of Canada and the United States.

Over the first weekend, attendance surged to 31,481 on Saturday, June 13 (Brazil vs. Morocco; Haiti vs. Scotland; and Australia vs. Turkey) — the same day Vancouver hosted its first FIFA World Cup match at BC Place Stadium between Australia and Turkey — before settling at 20,024 on Sunday, June 14 (Germany vs. Curacao; Netherlands vs. Japan; and Cote D’Ivoire vs. Ecuador).

The Saturday turnout alone accounted for more than one-third of the festival’s first-weekend attendance, highlighting the significant boost generated by match-day activity across the city and the huge influx of visitors from Australia and Turkey.

Over the first four days, an average of 21,845 people visited the fairgrounds for the fan festival each day.

So far, the atmosphere across the fairgrounds during the fan festival has been electric.

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Canada’s opener at the PNE amphitheatre at the FIFA World Cup Fan Festival on June 12, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

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Crowds at Vancouver’s FIFA Fan Festival at the PNE fairgrounds in Hastings Park watching the first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as seen on June 11, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

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Crowds at the FIFA World Cup Fan Festival at the PNE fairgrounds in Hastings Park on June 14, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

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Renfrew/Hastings entrance; long lines to enter Vancouver’s FIFA World Cup Fan Festival at the PNE fairgrounds at Hastings Park, before the opening of the fairgrounds on the morning of June 11, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

It should be strongly emphasized that the fan festival is not open every day during the 39-day tournament period between Thursday, June 11 and Sunday, July 19. It is closed on all Mondays, three Tuesdays (June 16, 23, and 30), and two Wednesdays (July 1 and 8). It was also closed on Monday, June 15 and Tuesday, June 16, with the fan festival reopening tomorrow for its second consecutive multi-day period between Wednesday, June 17 and Sunday, June 21.

This fan festival has been serving as Metro Vancouver’s primary official FIFA World Cup gathering place for supporters and visitors without match tickets — offering free live screenings of tournament matches, concerts, live music, performances, entertainment, cultural programming, sponsor activations, official tournament merchandise sales, and food and beverage vendors across the transformed fairgrounds.

In addition to free entry at the gates into the fairgrounds for everyone and the free general admission standing-only area on the floor of the new amphitheatre, which is on a first-come, first-served basis for 2,600 people, there are also premium tickets that guarantee amphitheatre seating for the duration of each 12-hour operating day.

The fan festival across the fairgrounds — not just the amphitheatre — has a capacity for about 25,000 people per day.

Nearly 19,000 boardings on TransLink’s best bus service to reach the FIFA Fan Festival

The strong attendance so far has also translated into heightened demand for public transit services connecting Downtown Vancouver and Hastings Park.

Upon inquiry, TransLink told Daily Hive Urbanized the special temporary No. 11 FIFA Fan Festival Express shuttle bus route linking the PNE fairgrounds to two SkyTrain lines carried approximately 18,800 passengers over the same four-day period. Daily boardings reached 3,300 on Thursday, 3,400 on Friday, 6,900 on Saturday, and 5,200 on Sunday.

In total, nearly 19,000 people boarded the No. 11 express bus service over this four-day period or an average of about 4,900 per day. This does not include the ridership from the passengers who arrived to the fan festival using other bus routes, such as the R5 Hastings Street RapidBus from Downtown Vancouver.

The dedicated No. 11 express bus service operates between the Expo Line’s 29th Avenue Station and the PNE’s Pacific Coliseum entrance, and it makes just one stop along the six-km-long route — a mid-way stop at the Millennium Line’s Renfrew Station. It is one of the best ways to get to the fan festival, if not the best, with an end-to-end travel time of about 15 minutes and frequencies of five minutes or better using a fleet of high-capacity, 60-ft, three-door articulated buses.

The No. 11 express bus operates only on the 28 days the fan festival is open, with service starting two hours before the fan festival gates open each day and continuing until two hours after closing.

FIFA World Cup volunteers guiding people to the No. 11 FIFA Fan Festival Express bus service; SkyTrain’s Renfrew Station with FIFA World Cup and FIFA Fan Festival branding. (Kenneth Chan)

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TransLink’s No. 11 FIFA Fan Festival Express bus at SkyTrain’s Renfrew Station. (Kenneth Chan)

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Bus stop at SkyTrain’s Renfrew Station for the No. 11 FIFA Fan Festival Express bus route. (Kenneth Chan)

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Route and stop map of TransLink’s No. 11 FIFA Fan Festival Express bus route. (Kenneth Chan)

During the fan festival’s first four days, the No. 11 operation appeared to run smoothly, with the buses cycling efficiently through the Pacific Coliseum bus loop and providing a level of frequency, capacity, and reliability rarely seen on a conventional TransLink bus route. The bus stops of this service are also manned by FIFA World Cup volunteers, Transit Security, and Transit Police.

The early attendance figures suggest Vancouver’s fan festival is on pace to become one of the most heavily attended FIFA World Cup-related attractions in the city during the month-long tournament.

Over the 28 days it is scheduled to operate, total attendance at the fan festival could ultimately exceed the cumulative spectator attendance at the seven FIFA World Cup matches being held at BC Place Stadium.

During Saturday’s match between Australia and Turkey, it was announced that there was a “full house” attendance of 52,497 at the stadium under its tournament configuration.

Yesterday, TransLink shared that it saw its busiest Saturday ridership for an event held at BC Place Stadium since the 2010 Winter Olympics, with tens of thousands of fans using public transit to reach Downtown Vancouver for the match venue and Granville Street Pedestrian Zone, the FIFA Fan Festival at the PNE fairgrounds in Hastings Park, and other destinations across the region.

The SkyTrain stations near the stadium saw the highest Saturday event-day ridership since the Olympics.

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