ERR in Seattle: City geared up for FIFA World Cup 2026 bonanza

With just two months to go until the FIFA World Cup kicks off across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the Pacific Northwest hub of Seattle forecasts the tournament's economic impact will be worth as much as $1 billion.
Seattle's Lumen Field, home of the NFL's Seahawks, will host group matches from groups B, D and G, plus two knockout games in the round of 32 and round of 16 respectively.
This means hundreds of thousands of visitors will descend on Seattle in a couple of months' time. Preparations are underway inside the Lumen Field stadium and far beyond it too, with bars and pubs across the city already gearing up for the quadrennial sports fest, which it is hoped will bring a boon.
"Anything that happens around the stadiums here is our bread and butter, it's how we make our big money," bar manager Billy told ERR.
Bars are adding extra shifts and ordering up to three times more beer than usual.
"We started preparing actually last month, because we're going to be the hub of a lot of people, all at once; we've got a hotel right across the street that's fully booked for the entire six weeks," Billy went on.
This is even after fans have forked out on the steep ticket prices, stretching into the hundreds, and even thousands of dollars.
"Been here for 28 years. I can only get 200 people in here, so there's not much I can do personally, I just am open," bar owner Shelly said meanwhile.
The arrival of the FIFA World Cup means the city's main sports franchises, particularly the Seattle Mariners baseball team, whose season the tournament impacts, taking a back seat for the month-and-a-half the tournament lasts.
"Nice to have all the big teams come, so we can watch them, instead of just watching them on TV. It's exciting, everybody is really excited round here, it's just a different atmosphere," Shelly added.
In addition to the bars, street food vendors are also preparing for long lines. Menus are being adapted for international fans too, while visitors are encouraged to try local specialties.
"I would suggest to everyone the Seattle dog. That's cream cheese and onions on top of a Polish dog. I know it sounds weird with cream cheese, but I recommend really trying it, giving it a shot," said street vendor Payden.
"Seattle is an expensive place to live, for sure, but it's definitely going to put a boost into the economy; the service workers and people that work to support the event, it's going to be exciting, there's going to be a lot of money that pumps into the economy," said one local resident, Tony.
The FIFA World Cup begins on June 11 with the first group games and ends July 19 with the final.
The U.S. hosted the World Cup back in 1994 and is joined by Canada and Mexico this time around. As host nations, all three have qualified. As well as such staple teams as Brazil, France, Belgium, Germany and Scotland, surprise qualifiers this time around include Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan, while Italy's jinx continues with the third failure to qualify in a row.
The original "Aktuaalne kaamera" segment can be viewed by clicking the video player below.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Johanna Alvin
Source: "Aktuaalne kaamera"









