For five weeks in June and July 2026, Vancouver was one of 16 host cities of the FIFA World Cup 2026, shared by Canada, the United States and Mexico. BC Place hosted seven matches, the FIFA Fan Festival filled Hastings Park, and watch parties popped up from North Vancouver to Delta. The tournament ended on July 19, 2026, when Spain beat Argentina 1–0 after extra time in the final in New Jersey.
This page looks back at how Vancouver hosted: every BC Place match and result, the fan festival, the numbers reported by official sources, and what comes next for the stadium and the city’s soccer fans.
Vancouver’s World Cup 2026 at a glance
- Tournament dates: June 11 to July 19, 2026.
- Stadium: BC Place, 777 Pacific Boulevard, downtown Vancouver.
- Matches in Vancouver: seven — five group-stage games, one Round of 32 match and one Round of 16 match.
- Canada at BC Place: two group games, including Canada’s first-ever men’s World Cup win, 6–0 over Qatar.
- Attendance: each of the five group matches was a full house of 52,497, according to FIFA figures shared by the Province of B.C.
- Fan Festival: free, at Hastings Park (PNE), with more than 500,000 visits over the tournament.
BC Place matches and results
| Date (2026) | Round | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, June 13 | Group D | Australia vs Türkiye | Australia 2–0 |
| Thursday, June 18 | Group B | Canada vs Qatar | Canada 6–0 |
| Sunday, June 21 | Group G | New Zealand vs Egypt | Egypt 3–1 |
| Wednesday, June 24 | Group B | Canada vs Switzerland | Switzerland 2–1 |
| Friday, June 26 | Group G | New Zealand vs Belgium | Belgium 5–1 |
| Thursday, July 2 | Round of 32 | Switzerland vs Algeria | Switzerland 2–0 |
| Tuesday, July 7 | Round of 16 | Switzerland vs Colombia | 0–0 after extra time; Switzerland won 4–3 on penalties |
Match notes
- Australia 2–0 Türkiye (June 13): Vancouver’s opening match. Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe scored for Australia.
- Canada 6–0 Qatar (June 18): the biggest night in Canadian men’s soccer. Jonathan David scored a hat trick, the first by a host-nation player at a World Cup since 1966, and Cyle Larin and substitute Nathan Saliba also scored. Qatar finished with nine players. The match drew 11.7 million Canadian TV viewers, the most-watched World Cup group-stage match in Canada.
- Egypt 3–1 New Zealand (June 21): Finn Surman headed New Zealand in front before Mostafa Ziko, Mohamed Salah and Trezeguet scored for Egypt’s first-ever World Cup win, in front of a sellout crowd of 52,497.
- Switzerland 2–1 Canada (June 24): Switzerland took first place in Group B. Canada still advanced to the knockout stage for the first time, but had to play its Round of 32 match in Los Angeles.
- Belgium 5–1 New Zealand (June 26): Leandro Trossard scored twice, with Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Saelemaekers adding goals. Belgium won Group G.
- Switzerland 2–0 Algeria (July 2): Breel Embolo and Dan Ndoye scored, sending the Swiss back to BC Place for the Round of 16.
- Switzerland 0–0 Colombia, Switzerland win on penalties (July 7): Vancouver’s last World Cup match. Ruben Vargas scored the decisive penalty in a 4–3 shootout, and Switzerland moved on to face Argentina in the quarterfinals.
Canada’s tournament
Canada opened with a 0–0 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto, then played both remaining group games at BC Place. After the record 6–0 win over Qatar and a 2–1 loss to Switzerland, Canada reached the knockout stage for the first time. Stephen Eustáquio’s stoppage-time goal beat South Africa in the Round of 32 in Los Angeles on June 28, Canada’s first knockout win at a men’s World Cup. The run ended with a 3–0 loss to Morocco in the Round of 16 in Houston on July 4.
The FIFA Fan Festival at Hastings Park
The official FIFA Fan Festival ran at Hastings Park on the PNE grounds on 28 select days between June 11 and July 19. Entry was free, with ten giant screens across four outdoor viewing areas, a standing area in the PNE Amphitheatre for 2,600 people, paid premium seats, live music and food vendors.
- Attendance: more than 500,000 visits over the five weeks, a record for the site, as reported by The Canadian Press from the festival’s own count.
- Busiest day: Thursday, June 18 (Canada vs Qatar), with 40,943 visitors.
- Capacity days: the site reached its 25,000-person capacity just after 10 am on July 4, when 10,000 people watched Canada vs Morocco in the amphitheatre.
- Getting there: TransLink ran a No. 11 Fan Festival Express bus from 29th Avenue Station.
Watch parties around Metro Vancouver
Many cities ran free viewing sites for the whole tournament. Among them:
- Canada Soccer House, The Shipyards, North Vancouver — waterfront screenings of more than 100 matches. It reached capacity on final day.
- Granville Island Watch Party — a free watch party for every match with a 1,000-person capacity, at or over capacity for many games.
- Surrey Soccer Fan Zones — Surrey Civic Plaza and Central City Plaza, Cloverdale Agriplex and South Surrey Athletic Park. See our Surrey page.
- Summer of Soccer in Coquitlam — Percy Perry Stadium, Blue Mountain Park and Town Centre Park.
- Soccer Fan Zones Delta — Ladner Village and North Delta Recreation Centre.
- Game On, Maple Ridge — Memorial Peace Park and The ACT Arts Centre.
- Soccer in the Square, UBC — Norman Mackenzie Square in Wesbrook Village.
- Also popular: Tribuna Latina in Gastown, Game Days at The Flats in East Vancouver, and the Parq Casino viewing lounge beside BC Place.
Official stores during the tournament
Official FIFA World Cup 2026 merchandise stores were set up for the tournament at YVR airport (domestic terminal, Pier C), CF Pacific Centre, 810 Granville Street, the Fan Festival, Creekside Park on the matchday walking route, and inside BC Place for ticket holders. These were tournament-period shops; for remaining Vancouver host-city merchandise, check FIFA’s official online store.
Vancouver’s World Cup by the numbers
- 52,497: sellout attendance at each of the five group-stage matches at BC Place (FIFA figures).
- 1.4 million: TransLink boardings on June 24, the highest system-wide ridership day on record.
- Nearly 1.8 million: passengers handled by YVR, averaging over 85,000 a day, as reported by the Province on June 29.
- Up to 40%: sales increases reported by some Vancouver restaurants and bars, especially on match days.
- About 1 million: additional out-of-province visitors the Province expects B.C. to gain over five years after the tournament, with over $1 billion in extra visitor spending.
What’s next for BC Place and Vancouver soccer
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC: the Whitecaps play their MLS home games at BC Place and clinched a spot in the 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs in October. Check whitecapsfc.com for playoff dates and the 2027 schedule.
- BC Lions: the CFL team also calls BC Place home; the 2027 season schedule is usually released in the winter.
- Concerts and big events: BC Place hosts stadium concerts and major events through the year. See the BC Place events calendar.
- Youth legacy: the Province provided 500 free World Cup tickets to children and youth through the BC Place Community Benefits Program.
For what’s on now, see our events page, the holiday events guide, the December events calendar and the Vancouver events calendar. Our BC Place guide covers getting to the stadium by SkyTrain (Stadium–Chinatown Station) and where to eat nearby.
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