Watch party at Ice District ‘amazing experience’ for World Cup semifinal

Spectators inside the tent in Fan Park at Edmonton's Ice District watch the FIFA World Cup semifinal on July 14, 2026, between France and Spain. (Connor Hogg/CTV News Edmonton)

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times – the best for supporters of Spain, the winners of Tuesday’s FIFA World Cup semifinal over France.

The worst in this tale of two teams? Ah, don’t feel too sorry for French fans, whose side claimed global national men’s soccer supremacy for the second time in history just eight years ago.

A Spanish squad last took the crown in 2010, the only time the European nation has claimed it.

Regardless, the atmosphere in Edmonton’s Ice District for a France-Spain watch party inside the tent at Fan Park was decidedly jovial – “an amazing experience,” Mevruk Adam said.

“Especially the Canadian games, the Moroccan games, they were amazing here,” Adam, who was attending his fifth World Cup watch party at Ice District, told CTV News Edmonton. “I haven’t been here a lot, to be honest, but (it’s been) one of the best experiences I’ve experienced here at Fan Park.”

It was the desire to be a part of a group of fans experiencing the highs and lows, ebb and flow of a game that drew Gwladys Jousselme to Fan Park for the match.

Although the gathering wasn’t as large as Jousselme was used to in her native France, the now-Edmontonian craved being amongst a crowd to watch the game, a 2-0 victory for Spain.

“I wanted to be outside, and that’s how we do it in France, in places like Churchill Square,” she told CTV News Edmonton. “In France, there will be a big screen outside, and I love this atmosphere of being with other people.”

Spain awaits the winner of Wednesday’s other semifinal, defending World Cup champion Argentina vs. England at 1 p.m. MT. The FIFA World Cup final will be played on Sunday (also 1 p.m. MT) at New York/New Jersey Stadium.

Canada has been co-hosting the event, billed as the world’s largest, with Mexico and the United States. Games on Canadian soil were played in Toronto and Vancouver.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Connor Hogg