One year out, there are still many uncertainties about FIFA 2026 in Vancouver

Good morning, 

Nate with you today. Channelling my grandmother’s advice to smile at strangers, I’ve been making an effort to work against my social angst and typical penchant for solitude in a crowd. I’m happy to report it’s been working lately. It’s really just been little moments with new people, whether it’s a greeting, chat, or just a smile. ☺️

It’s something I’ve always seen as coming naturally to people like my grandfather, a social butterfly if ever there was one. It’s an admirable and magnetic quality to possess. But it’s people like my grandma, who are not naturally inclined to outgoing social behaviour but make a practice and a point of doing it anyway, who really inspire me. 

While I’m still prone to slapping on my sunglasses and headphones when I leave the house, it’s been very gratifying to have a little bit more connection with all those people I’m always around but often don’t acknowledge. And a dog certainly helps break the proverbial ice! 

With that bit of gratitude out of the way, let’s get to today’s newsletter!

— Nate Lewis, Vancity Lookout

Editor’s note: We made an error in Wednesday’s newsletter when talking about the rezoning approval of the Safeway site near Broadway and Commercial. We (and other media) said 10% of the new units would be offered at below-market rates. However, as a reader rightly pointed out, the application was actually for those 104 units to be rented at city-wide average market rates. It’s a distinction that will likely make a difference for eventual renters. 

PS - If you find this newsletter valuable, please consider forwarding it to your friends. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free. 

WEATHER

Friday: 16 🌡️ 9 | 🌤️

Saturday: 17 🌡️ 9 | 🌤️

Sunday: 20 🌡️ 11 | 🌤️

Monday: 19 🌡️ 12 | 🌤️

THE LOOKOUT RECOMMENDS

Summer drink: I really believe Aiyaohno Cafe at 425 Carral St. in Gastown doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Their drink menu is top notch, with drinks like Yuzu Ginger, Miso Caramel Latte and a Hojicha Chai Latte. But it’s their food that is the standout. Their uni miso butter udon was exquisite, a clear sign they’re a talented team. Plus, with an 4.9 star review on Google Maps, I’m not the only one who likes it.  

One event: If I were to pick one event to go to this weekend, I’d choose the the Strathcona Blocks Party on Saturday in the afternoon at the 800 block of E Hastings. I’m a big believer in more walkable areas for people, so when you combine that with music and local food, you’ve got my support.

FIFA WORLD CUP

One year out, there are still many uncertainties about FIFA 2026 in Vancouver

What happened: It’s officially one year until the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup kicks off in Vancouver. But there’s still uncertainty about many issues, including where visitors will stay, how much it will cost, and what the impact will be on other annual events that aren’t allowed to take place during the tournament. 

Background: Vancouver is set to host seven World Cup matches between June 13 and July 7, 2026, including five group stage games – two of which will feature Canada’s Men’s National Team – and two elimination matches later in the tournament. The schedule of other teams playing in Vancouver won’t be finalized until December. 

• FIFA also plans to hold its national congress in Vancouver in April 2026, with 1,600 expected to attend, according to Mayor Ken Sim.

Accommodation uncertainty: A major theme this week has been uncertainty over where visitors should stay when they flock to the city in the summer of 2026.

At a FIFA countdown event hosted by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade earlier this week, tourism advocates pointed to Vancouver’s stagnant hotel supply – which they’ve been working with city hall to improve – as an issue for the estimated 350,000 visitors who will attend the seven games. 

• Vancouver currently has about 13,000 hotel rooms. 

The city and province are in conversations about allowing an exemption to short-term rental restrictions for the tournament, according to BIV. The various rules currently limit the types of spaces that can be rented out and require business licenses to operate in the city.

Minister Spencer Chandra Herbert said there’s an opportunity for people to stay in hotels outside Vancouver, suggesting they might come in from the Fraser Valley or as far away as Nanaimo, according to CBC. 

• Ironically, those visitors staying outside the city would not be paying the extra 2.5% tax on short-term accommodations that was introduced in 2023 to help pay for World Cup costs.

The cost: There’s also not been a firm budget for the tournament set by the province. Chandra Herbet, the MLA for the West End and B.C.’s minister of tourism, arts, culture, and sport, said the province will release a full costing for the event later this month. 

In 2022, the estimated cost to host five games was between $240 and $260 million, but, by April 2024, two more games had been added and the estimated public costs more than doubled to between $483 million and $581 million, according to the Vancouver Sun. 

• The 2024 estimate included a $246-276 million bill for the city to pay for a fan festival at Hastings Park, training facilities, security, and traffic and stadium management. 

About 75-80 per cent of those total estimated costs are expected to be covered by revenues and a $116 million contribution from the federal government. 

Potential economic benefits: Meanwhile, the province has said during the World Cup and in the five years that follow, the tournament could generate over 1 million additional visitors from outside B.C. who could spend over $1 billion. 

Opaque process: The city has been criticized for their approach to choosing locations for training sites, and for a lack of transparency in their obligations to share certain agreements and correspondence about plans for the World Cup. 

As we covered extensively last winter, the city and park board’s plan to set up a training venue in Memorial South Park, near Fraser and 41st Avenue, was strongly criticized by community members and park board commissioners for a lack of public consultation, minimal legacy amenities, and a long-term closure of public space. 

• In January, the city made a surprising last-minute move to host that training facility at UBC’s soccer centre instead. Neighbours who opposed the project were elated by the decision. 

The province’s information and privacy commissioner has been critical of how FIFA and the city have censored some information contained in their agreements about the tournament, including the host city agreement, according to The Breaker. 

Each of the 16 host cities have an agreement with FIFA, a contract that outlines the many responsibilities and requirments involved in hosting part of the tournament.  

The contract has a general confidentiality clause, with an exception for disclosure required by relevant laws. That includes B.C.’s freedom of information (FOI) law. When requested under a similar public records law, Seattle released a minimally redacted version of their agreement with FIFA. Toronto’s contract was also obtained through an FOI, and reportedly contains similar or verbatim language to the contracts with other cities.   

• Vancouver has until July 15 to release further information about the host city agreement, as well as other correspondence and contracts. 

No other events: One notable clause reportedly included in the original release of Vancouver’s host contract was a provision prohibiting other major events around the host city’s tournament dates. 

According to the language in Seattle’s agreement, that includes prohibiting “substantial cultural events (such as music concerts) which draw together large numbers of people,” anywhere in the city around match days, aside from events sanctioned by FIFA. In Vancouver, that would mean larger events, festivals, and concerts could not take place for about three weeks in June and early July of 2026. 

This year, some of the big annual events in the city during that time-period include Khatsahlano Street Party on West 4th in Kits, Greek Day on Broadway west of Macdonald, the International Jazz Festival which hosts shows all over the city, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s concert at Sunset Beach, the Dragon Boat Festival near Science World and along False Creek, and Canada Day events and celebrations, like those on Granville Island. 

Other major sporting events are also not allowed for over a month (from June 6 to July 14). That has the potential to impact events like the Gastown Grand Prix cycling race, taking place this year on July 9, regular season home games at Nat Bailey Stadium for the Vancouver Canadians, and a possible (while unlikely) run to the Stanley Cup Final by the Vancouver Canucks next year. 

With all these events and festivals gearing up for their 2025 editions in the next few weeks, it’s unclear how or how many of them would be impacted by the city’s agreement with FIFA. For some, it may not be an issue.  

• For example, next year’s Khatsahlano event will naturally fall after the FIFA exclusion window, Jane McFadden with the West 4th Avenue BIA told Vancity Lookout. 

Other organizers may be able to move their events to avoid the exclusion period, but there’s also potential for annual local events to be cancelled outright in 2026. Canada Day events fall squarely into that period, and may not happen or will move to other parts of the region.   

Vancity Lookout asked the city’s FIFA host committee how they plan to accommodate and support local organizers, vendors, and participants, including the possibility of buy-outs, if annual events couldn’t go ahead due to the agreement. However, they were not able to respond by publication time.

What it means: A year out, and with many of these annual events about to take place in the next few weeks, it’s not yet clear how big of an impact this no major events clause will have on all the big celebrations and festivals that happen at this time of year. 

However, it does seem imperative that the city not let a minor requirement from FIFA, the organizers of one of the world’s biggest events, undermine or cause hardship for the local annual events that Vancouverites will enjoy this year, and (hopefully) long after FIFA leaves town. 

THE VANCOUVER NUMBER

30

The anniversary celebrated by the central branch of the Vancouver Public Library late last month. While the special anniversary edition tour has passed, you can always plan to attend a regular tour of the lovely nine-storey building, including its rooftop patio. And check out this story for some fun tidbits from the VPL’s three decades between Georgia and Robson. [VPL, CTV]

THE AGENDA

🏨 The province has announced plans to move three provincially-owned supportive housing sites away from the Granville Strip. The news, shared by Mayor Ken Sim, came the day after a fire at one of those buildings – the former Howard Johnson Hotel – put two people in hospital and forced all its residents to leave their units for the night. Last week, ABC Coun. Pete Meiszner added an amendment to the Granville Street Plan, offering other city-owned land for the province to build replacement supportive housing. Housing Minister Ravi Khalon said the plan will proceed once the city provides those three new sites. [Global, X, CTV, Urbanized, Vancity Lookout]

🏚️ Granville Island needs about $300 million to fix its aging buildings and infrastructure. There’s no straightforward fix because it’s been self-sustaining, without government funding, since being converted in the late 1970s. One idea, floated at an event this week by former Vancouver mayor and BC premier Mike Harcourt, was to put housing in. Based on the booing from the crowd, it’s not a popular idea – or one the Island’s management is currently planning. But they’re also not ruling anything out given their situation. [CBC] 

🏇 The Vancouver Humane Society is urging city council to stop allowing horse racing at Hastings Racecourse, after a horse collapsed and died following an event on Sunday. Four horses died at the track last year, at a rate that’s “markedly higher” than the industry average, the society said. 

👢 The Dayton Boot Factory – an East Van landmark that was gutted by a fire in April – is hosting a fundraiser concert event, which includes the Snotty Nose Rez Kids, at the Rio on June 19. Tickets ($46) and more info here. [CTV, Rio Theatre]

🚢 This local labour reporter took a fascinating and in-depth ride along with union inspectors as they conducted a surprise check on the welfare of seafarers at a ship docking in Vancouver’s port. [The Tyee]

🤕 Heartbreaking news for homegrown Whitecaps defender Sam Adekugbe, who will miss the rest of the season after tearing his Achilles tendon [Whitecaps]

🗳️ Vancouver-Quilchena MLA Dallas Brodie is now the interim leader of a new two-member right-wing party in the legislature called One BC, which states it wants to “dismantle the reconciliation industry”. Brodie was kicked out of the Conservative Party in March over her comments on residential schools. Wade Grant, the MP for Vancouver Quadra and a Musqueam Nation member, said it’s shameful that Brodie is trying to play into fears about what reconciliation means. Grant and Brodie both represent residents in Dunbar, Arbutus Ridge, part of Shaughnessy, and the Musqueam reserve, at different levels of government. [CBC, One BC]

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Can’t confirm, but a redditor may have captured the intro to the latest tale of seagull food theft at Granville Island. It is a Vancouver rite of passage after all…

EVENT GUIDE

Festival d’été francophone de Vancouver | Le Centre culturel francophone, 1551 West 7th Ave. | June 11–21, various times | Francophone music fest with concerts & shows | Various prices

Vancouver Canadians vs. Spokane Indians | Nat Bailey Stadium | Now until June 15, various times | Family Fun Sunday on Father's Day, kids run bases | Tickets various prices

Vancouver T100 Triathlon | Locarno Beach and Jericho Sailing Centre | June 13–15, various times | International triathlon, 5K run, yoga | Free and ticketed events

Vancouver Short Film Festival | SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts | June 13–15, various times | 47 bold short films & After Dark block | Tickets various prices

Strathcona Blocks Party | East Hastings (800 Block) | June 14, noon to 5 pm (beer garden until 8 pm) | Music, food trucks, games & beer garden | Free

Pinoy Festival | Swangard Stadium (Burnaby) | June 14, 9 am - 10 pm | Celebrate the food, sights, and sounds of the Philippines | More info

5X Festival Blockparty | Surrey Civic Plaza, 13450 104th Ave. | June 14, 4 pm | South Asian music, art, food & vendors | Free, RSVP online

Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo | Anvil Centre, 777 Columbia St. | June 14, 11 am | Gaming panels, tournaments, cosplay & more | Tickets $25

Japan Market | Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza | June 14–15, various times | Japanese food, vendors & performances | Tickets $5+

Classica Auto Italiana – Vancouver Auto Show | Italian Cultural Centre, 3075 Slocan St. | June 15, 11 am | Classic Italian cars, food & drinks | Free (register online)

Dragon Boat Festival | East False Creek near Science World | June 20-22 | More info (free)

Great Grandview Garage Sale | June 21, 10am - 2 pm | Stroll through Grandview-Woodland and find some treasures at garage sales happening all over the neighbourhood | More info

Welk’s 20th Anniversary Block Party | Main and 19th Ave | June 21, 10 am - 6pm | Everyone’s favourite boutique homeware store is throwing a bday bash | Free 

Greek Day on Broadway | Between Macdonald and Blenheim St | June 22, 11am - 9pm | Free

An Ideal Husband | Jericho Arts Centre, 1675 Discovery St | Now until June 22, various times | Oscar Wilde play on secrets and morality | Tickets $15–$35

Theatre Under the Stars | Stanley Park's Malkin Bowl | June 27 to August 16, 2025 | Theatre Under the Stars presents its 2025 season of sweet dreams and big schemes with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Legally Blonde | Tickets from $35

Eco-Art Fest | Douglas Fir Teaching Garden (Champlain Heights) | June 28, 10 am–2 pm | More info

Want to see your event here? You can purchase them through our self-service portal here.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• A popular vintage store in Kitsilano is set to close. [Vancouver is Awesome]

• Mount Pleasant is getting its own festival full of music and food on August 9.

• A small indie game developer Sunset Visitor just won the prestigious Peabody Award for their work on 1000xResist. [CBC]

• Want to learn more about the challenges and future for Granville Island? This video breaks it all down. 

Want to have your announcement featured? Learn how here.

VANCOUVER GUESSER

Congrats to the many people who knew last week’s Guesser was park in Grandview-Woodland, and yes, it is a great spot for sledding. While it’s officially called Salsbury Park there’s a cute little sign proclaiming it as “Chicken Park.” Not sure why exactly but if you’ve got the tea I’d love to know!

For today’s Guesser, can you tell me what park you’d find this playground in? There’s a skate park somewhere in there too. 

THE ARCHIVE