EventsNewsSportsSoccerUrbanizedFIFA World Cup

Over 175,000 people attended City of Surrey's four unofficial FIFA World Cup watch parties

Kenneth Chan
Kenneth Chan
|
Jul 21 2026, 10:27 pm
Over 175,000 people attended City of Surrey's four unofficial FIFA World Cup watch parties
Surrey Soccer Fan Zone at Surrey Civic Plaza in Surrey City Centre, as seen on July 19, 2026. (City of Surrey)

A relatively strong cumulative turnout of over 175,000 people were recorded at four unofficial 2026 FIFA World Cup fan zone sites organized by the City of Surrey.

Throughout the 39-day tournament period, Surrey’s municipal government funded and staged free events with live match broadcasts, live entertainment, family-friendly activities, community exhibitors, and food trucks. In total, over 100 matches were shown.

The four locations included the outdoor sites of Surrey Civic Plaza and Holland Park in Surrey City Centre, as well as South Surrey Athletic Park. Another location was held indoors in the Cloverdale Agriplex at the Cloverdale fairgrounds.

Across the four locations, the total attendance creates an average of about 44,000 people per site over the entire run of just over five weeks.

When the City first made public its plan in March to host free match viewing festivals, it announced three locations. A fourth location at Holland Park was confirmed closer to the start of the tournament.

Surrey Soccer Fan Zone-Holland Park FIFA World Cup -July 19 2026 (1)

Surrey Soccer Fan Zone at Holland Park in Surrey City Centre, as seen on July 19, 2026. (City of Surrey)

These festivals were formally called “Soccer Fan Zones,” and did not carry the official branding and activations of the FIFA World Cup.

According to the City, this was the largest celebration Surrey’s municipal government has ever hosted.

“The FIFA World Cup is a once-in-a-generation event, and we wanted everyone in Surrey to have the opportunity to be part of it,” said Surrey mayor Brenda Locke in a statement on Monday.

“The free fan zones made it possible for families, friends and neighbours to share the excitement of the tournament without having to buy a ticket to a match. Thank you to everyone who attended, volunteered and helped make this celebration such a success, and to the Province of British Columbia for its support.”

In contrast, the City of Vancouver’s free official FIFA Fan Festival at the PNE fairgrounds in Hastings Park recorded 556,528 attendees over its run on 28 select days during the tournament period. It had a capacity of up to 25,000 people at any given time, including 10,000 within the new amphitheatre.

Canada Soccer House at The Shipyards on the Lonsdale waterfront in North Vancouver had a capacity for up to about 5,000 people at any given point.

Preliminary estimates by Downtown Van, the local business improvement association for Downtown Vancouver, peg an extraordinary total cumulative pedestrian traffic of well over a million people for the Granville Street Pedestrian Zone over the 39-day tournament period.

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