The 2026 FIFA Fan Fest will be held at the National WWI Museum and Memorial, officials announced Wednesday.
The festival, which accompanies the FIFA World Cup in its host cities, will take place on the south lawn of the museum and feature “multiple stages, gathering spaces, and screens,” said Mayor Quinton Lucas at a press conference on the museum grounds.
Pam Kramer, CEO of planning organization KC2026, expects the World Cup matches—six between June 16 and July 11—to bring hundreds of thousands of international tourists to Kansas City. The festival is an opportunity to show them Kansas City.
“We want to capture the hearts of fans across the globe by surprising and delighting them with what we already know,” said Kramer. “… It’ll start here, where people will gather to watch matches of their own teams, of other teams, to experience the warmth of our people, our food, our culture, our entertainment.”
Though organizers and city officials wouldn’t comment on specific programming for the festival, all of it—from food to music—will focus on Kansas City, says Elliott Scott, the marketing director for the Kansas City Sports Commission.
Arrowhead Stadium will host four group-stage matches between June 16 and June 27, 2026, then one knockout match on July 3 and another on July 11. The July 3 match means thousands of tourists will likely be in town for the Fourth of July—which is traditionally highlighted by the Star Spangled Picnic and fireworks show at the National WWI Museum and Memorial.
Mayor Lucas wouldn’t say how the festival will affect that event, but, speaking generally, he said the plan is to integrate the festival into the normal goings-on of the city.
“I think it’s fair to say that we’ll continue to work with the National WWI Museum about the events that have been regulars here,” said Lucas. “We’ve had those discussions. We’re not ready to talk about the full summer schedule that would occur, but you can expect, for somebody who comes downtown, be it for something at the World War I Museum or a farmers market, we will be ready, and we’ll have a standard set of events.
“I think our biggest goal was this: to make sure that Kansas Citians can still be part of downtown, be part of the experience.”