Vancouver's Expo '86 flag poles fly the world's colours again for FIFA World Cup | Daily Hive

A full circle 40 years later: Vancouver's Expo '86 World's Fair flag poles fly the world's colours again for FIFA World Cup

Flag poles built for the Expo '86 World's Fair at the Plaza of Nations displaying the flags of all 48 nations competing in the FIFA World Cup, as seen on June 8, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Some of the remnants of Vancouver’s Expo ’86 World’s Fair have come full circle.

The dozens of flag poles that line the Northeast False Creek waterfront at the Plaza of Nations — originally installed as part of the British Columbia Pavilion complex during Expo ’86 — are once again flying the flags of the world, this time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

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In a striking visual display beside BC Place Stadium, all 48 participating nations in the expanded FIFA World Cup tournament are now represented by their national flags.

Additional Canada flags have been raised on the flag poles at either end of the installation of a forest of flag poles, filling the remaining positions while reinforcing Vancouver and Canada’s role in the tournament.

These flag poles were repaired and repainted for their reuse. While they have spent prolonged periods of the post-Expo era dormant, there have been occasions in recent years when all of the poles were used to display Canada flags.

Walking through a forest of flag poles bearing the colours of the 48 countries competing in FIFA World Cup.

40 years ago, these poles displayed the flags of nations participating in Vancouver’s Expo ’86 World’s Fair. #FIFAWorldCup #WeAreVancouver 2/2https://t.co/vbCHjrCuVr pic.twitter.com/bX023MQD9e

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) June 11, 2026

plaza of nations flags fifa world cup june 8 2026

Flag poles built for the Expo ’86 World’s Fair at the Plaza of Nations displaying the flags of all 48 nations competing in the FIFA World Cup, as seen on June 8, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Back in 1986, the B.C. Pavilion was one of the central event and gathering spaces of Expo ’86, hosting major celebrations, events, and other programming. The flag poles that framed the pavilion’s south side were used to showcase the countries and provincial jurisdictions participating in the World’s Fair.

Now, 40 years later, those same poles are once again carrying the colours of dozens of nations — not for a World’s Fair, but for the world’s biggest event celebrating its most popular sport.

The symbolism is difficult to miss.

While Expo ’86 welcomed dozens of international pavilion participants and introduced Vancouver to a global audience, the FIFA World Cup will bring the world back to the city in a different way.

The arrangement of the flags also creates a colourful perspective of BC Place Stadium when viewed from the Plaza of Nations dock, passing boats on False Creek, or vantage points along the waterway’s south shore.

Adding to the transformation is a newly painted mural stretching across the broad waterfront steps leading down to the water. The artwork features marine-inspired imagery, including jellyfish, starfish, shells, seaweed, and flowing ocean currents rendered in bright turquoise, purple, and yellow tones.

Flag poles built for the Expo ’86 World’s Fair at the Plaza of Nations displaying the flags of all 48 nations competing in the FIFA World Cup, as seen on June 8, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

There are at least two other temporary major public art installations in the Downtown Vancouver peninsula celebrating the nations competing in the FIFA World Cup.

Next to English Bay Beach, where Denman Street meets Davie Street, the iconic “A-maze-ing Laughter” (Laughing Men) sculptures have been dressed in jerseys and/or scarves representing the seven countries confirmed to play group stage matches at BC Place Stadium: Qatar, Egypt, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Canada.

A similarly themed installation can also be found at Robson Square, where a series of suspended oversized soccer balls display the colours and flags of the nations competing in Vancouver, alongside those of the tournament’s other co-host countries of the United States and Mexico.

But the largest flag installation for the FIFA World Cup can be found in the mountains that backdrop Vancouver’s skyline — atop Grouse Mountain. The world’s largest Canada flag can be clearly seen on a barren ski slope from across the Metro Vancouver region.

A-maze-ing Laughter Laughing Men English Bay sculptures Vancouver FIFA World Cup

A-maze-ing Laughter statues wearing the jerseys of FIFA World Cup nations playing in Vancouver, as seen on June 3, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

soccerscape fifa world cup vancouver robson square

“Soccerscape” public art installation at the Robson Square plaza for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (Kenneth Chan)

Grouse Mountain Resort

grouse mountain canada flag summer 2026 fifa world cup

World’s largest Canada flag unfurled atop Grouse Mountain on June 2, 2026, ahead of FIFA World Cup. (Grouse Mountain Resort)

Installation of a giant Canada flag atop Grouse Mountain, as seen on June 2, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Clearly visible from Plaza of Nations at the eastern end of False Creek is the geodesic dome of Science World — another legacy of Expo ’86.

Originally built as the Expo Centre and intended to be a temporary structure for the World’s Fair, the dome of Science World has now been transformed into a giant replica of the tournament’s official match ball, the adidas Trionda.

This resulting look is aptly called “The Beautiful Dome.”

The soccer ball — backdropped by the Downtown Vancouver skyline and BC Place Stadium — has quickly become one of Vancouver’s defining FIFA World Cup symbols, serving not only as an icon for the host city, but also for the tournament as a whole.

science world fifa world cup trionda soccer ball june 2 2026

Adidas FIFA World Cup Trionda soccer ball transformation of Science World, as seen on June 2, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

science world fifa world cup trionda soccer ball june 8 2026

Science World’s transformation into the FIFA World Cup’s adidas Trionda match soccer ball, as seen on June 8, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Science World’s transformation into the FIFA World Cup’s adidas Trionda match soccer ball. (Jon Ross Films/Destination Vancouver/Science World)

Of course, the Plaza of Nations is now a shadow of its former self. It was originally a complex of three buildings — Enterprise Hall, the West Building, and the East Building, which were oriented around an outdoor amphitheatre with a glass-covered roof.

The West Building, remnants of the World’s Fair’s monorail guideway, and the glass roof of the outdoor plaza were demolished in 2007. At the time, landlord Canadian Metropolitan Properties (CMP) asserted the glass roof was no longer safe as the bolts holding the metal frame and glass panels together had severely rusted.

The former footprint of the West Building was subsequently turned into a surface vehicle parking lot, which is now being used for the broadcast centre for the FIFA World Cup.

Enterprise Hall, currently used as a bookable major event space, was previously used as Edgewater Casino from 2005 to 2017, until the opening of Parq Vancouver casino hotel resort across the street.

Photo taken in the 2000s of the now-demolished glass roof of the Plaza of Nations’ outdoor plaza and the remnants of the monorail tracks. (Clubzone)

Flags flying at the Plaza of Nations in Vancouver (Plaza of Nations)

Flags flying at the Plaza of Nations during Edgewater Casino’s presence. (Plaza of Nations)

BC Pavilion, now known as the Plaza of Nations; Expo ’86 “anonymous documentary.” (Michael de Courcy | Kenneth Chan)

In 2018, Vancouver City Council approved the rezoning application for the overall Plaza of Nations redevelopment into a high-density, mixed-use residential and commercial development with significant public spaces and amenities. However, the project stalled due to market conditions.

In 2025, after years of delays with reaching the construction stage, the Plaza of Nations site changed hands, with the new ownership group — Northchild — now planning to create a drastically different redevelopment concept with greater density, taller towers, and new and different mixed uses, such as the introduction of a hotel as one of the anchor uses.

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