TransLink to run FIFA World Cup Fan Festival express bus to PNE every five minutes | Daily Hive

TransLink to run FIFA World Cup Fan Festival express bus between SkyTrain and PNE every five minutes

No. 11 FIFA Fan Festival Express bus route (left) and signage at SkyTrain's Renfrew Station. (TransLink | Kenneth Chan)

Expect very frequent express bus service to directly reach Vancouver’s official FIFA Fan Festival at the PNE fairgrounds in Hastings Park from SkyTrain’s Expo and Millennium lines.

TransLink announced today it will operate a temporary bus route known as the No. 11 FIFA Fan Festival Express along Renfrew Street between the Expo Line’s 29th Avenue Station and the PNE’s Pacific Coliseum entrance, with a key connection stop at Renfrew Station on the Millennium Line. This routing is similar to TransLink’s special express bus service during the PNE Fair period each year.

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The No. 11 will operate every five minutes from two hours before the gates open at the fairgrounds to two hours after the gate closure. It will only operate on the days when the FIFA Fan Festival is open.

Ahead of the five-week-long tournament period, special FIFA-branded signage has already been installed at 29th Avenue Station and Renfrew Station to help direct fan festival attendees to the No. 11 bus stops at both SkyTrain stations.

SkyTrain’s 29th Avenue Station; FIFA World Cup Fan Festival Express bus stop signage. (Kenny Ho)

fifa fan festival skytrain rupert station

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

In total, the FIFA Fan Festival is open for 28 select days during the entire 39-day tournament period. The fan festival’s operating days and opening and closing times are as follows:

Thursday, June 11: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (opening match in the host country of Mexico)
Friday, June 12: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (opening matches in the host countries of Canada and the United States)
Saturday, June 13: 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. (Vancouver group stage match: Australia vs. Turkey)
Sunday, June 14: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Wednesday, June 17: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Thursday, June 18: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Vancouver group stage match: Canada vs. Qatar)
Friday, June 19: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturday, June 20: 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 21: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Vancouver group stage match: New Zealand vs. Egypt)
Wednesday, June 24: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Vancouver group stage match: Switzerland vs. Canada)
Thursday, June 25: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Friday, June 26: 12 p.m. to midnight (Vancouver group stage match: New Zealand vs. Belgium)
Saturday, June 27: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Sunday, June 28: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Thursday, July 2: 12 p.m. to midnight (Vancouver knockout match: round of 32)
Friday, July 3: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Saturday, July 4: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (round-of-16)
Sunday, July 5: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. (round-of-16)
Tuesday, July 7: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (Vancouver knockout match: round of 16)
Thursday, July 9: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (quarter-finals)
Friday, July 10: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (quarter-finals)
Saturday, July 11: 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. (quarter-finals)
Sunday, July 12: 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Tuesday, July 14: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (semi-finals)
Wednesday, July 15: 10 p.m. to 6 p.m. (semi-finals)
Friday, July 17: 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Saturday, July 18: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. (bronze final)
Sunday, July 19: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (championship final)

Here is also a visual calendar view of the festival’s opening dates and times:

fifa fan festival vancouver pne june 2026 schedule

June 2026 schedule for Vancouver FIFA World Cup Fan Festival at the PNE in Hastings Park. (City of Vancouver)

fifa fan festival vancouver pne july 2026 schedule

July 2026 schedule for Vancouver FIFA World Cup Fan Festival at the PNE in Hastings Park. (City of Vancouver)

The operating times for the fan festival are generally coordinated with live matches held in the 16 host cities across Canada, the United States, and Mexico. However, the festival will not be open on Mondays and Tuesdays, and some Wednesdays and Thursdays — even when matches are being held in other cities. It will also be closed on Canada Day, July 1.

There will be free admission into the PNE fairgrounds for the FIFA World Cup, with free entry providing live match broadcasts on giant screens across the festival site, free live music and entertainment on the Park Stage and the new amphitheatre’s general admission floor, free interactive fan activations and immersive on-site experiences, food and beverage offerings, and official FIFA World Cup merchandise sales.

The amphitheatre’s free general admission floor area will have an estimated capacity of 2,600 per match and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Premium experiences are also available through ticketing, including for concerts and reserved seating for the live match screenings held at the amphitheatre.

Up to over 25,000 attendees are expected at the FIFA Fan Festival each day it is open. The new covered outdoor amphitheatre has a capacity for 10,000 spectators.

Map of the FIFA Fan Festival at the PNE fairgrounds in Hastings Park. (City of Vancouver)

Artistic rendering of the new PNE amphitheatre during the FIFA World Cup Fan Festival. (City of Vancouver)

In addition to the No. 11, extra service is also being provided on the R5 Hastings Street RapidBus to provide more service between Downtown Vancouver and the FIFA Fan Festival.

To provide higher-capacity buses to better serve the FIFA World Cup destinations in Downtown Vancouver and the PNE, TransLink is temporarily downsizing the No. 143 SFU Exchange/Burquitlam Station and No. 145 SFU Exchange/Production Station bus routes from the use of 60-ft-long, three-door articulated buses to the smaller 40-ft-long, two-door buses.

This change will be made during the tournament period, and the impact is expected to be minimal as Simon Fraser University’s Burnaby Mountain campus will be in the midst of its summer session, when there is less ridership demand.

Additionally, the No. 28 Phibbs Exchange/Joyce Station, No. 130 Phibbs Exchange/Metrotown Station, and the No. 222 Willingdon Express (Phibbs Exchange/Metrotown Station) will detour slightly west around Hastings Park via McGill Street, Renfrew Street, and East Hastings Street to provide additional service to reach the FIFA Fan Festival, instead of the normal direct route via Highway 1 across the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge.

One month after the FIFA Fan Festival’s final day, the annual PNE Fair will return to the fairgrounds, running between Aug. 22 and Sept. 7, with significantly expanded entertainment and other programming, including a substantial lineup for its nightly concerts at the new amphitheatre.

fifa world cup pne detour translink bus route-28-130-222

Detours of the No. 28, No. 130, and No. 222 bus routes along Renfrew Street to serve the FIFA Fan Festival at the PNE. (TransLink)

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