Planning versus reality: Behind Vancouver’s World Cup games

Vancouver's Granville Street became a major hub of World Cup celebrations. (CTV News)

It was a multi-city effort across three countries, and now that it’s over, Vancouver organizers are revealing what did and didn’t go according to plan when the 2026 FIFA World Cup actually unfolded in the city.

Many cities hosted six games, and Vancouver was among others hosting seven, with unique security, logistical, and cultural considerations in each metropolis. After all that preparation, the local organizers were surprised to see fans congregating predominantly in the city’s biggest entertainment district.

“Some of the things that we didn’t plan for, for example, was the success of Granville Street,” said Jessie Adcock, Vancouver Host Committee lead. “That meant all the agencies, we had to co-ordinate with them to ensure what time the matches were and what road closures needed to be made and what communication needed to be done – in real time.”

Fans give top marks, but not all businesses

Soccer fans praised the positive atmosphere, signage, and planning around BC Place stadium, the FIFA FanZone at Hastings Park, and other organized events, but some businesses weren’t as enthusiastic.

While the bars and restaurants on the Granville strip were steadily busy, including days when Canada didn’t play and there weren’t local matches, those in Chinatown and Gastown saw fewer visitors than expected, and in some cases, even fewer than usual for this time of year.

That was matched by hotels, which saw an overall 75 per cent occupancy in June compared to 91 per cent last year.

“I feel like I’ve heard more positive than negative, but I certainly appreciate that not everyone had the outcomes that they wish that they’d had,” acknowledged Adcock, who pointed out that most fans went where programming and public spaces were most soccer-oriented.

Policing and other costs

The day after the tournament’s final whistle blew, Vancouver police told the city’s journalists that the 39-day event saw the biggest deployment in the force’s history, bolstered by police from other jurisdictions across B.C. and Alberta.

The Vancouver Police Department says it made adjustments to member deployment after seeing how crowd patterns unfolded during the first game in Vancouver. Following those changes, the VPD says, everything largely went according to plan.

“Very key was not to have it (feel like) a police state,” said Dep. Chief, Don Chapman.

“That’s not the vibe that we wanted to achieve.”

He revealed that officers asked Last Mile celebrants to dispose of colourful smoke bombs in specially-placed pyrotechnic bins; and one of his superintendents acknowledged that the force knew there’d be extra scrutiny on Vancouver, with the 2011 Stanley Cup riot still associated with the city.

“(We prioritized) making sure we came out of this event without that black eye and managing whatever football hooliganism that us in Canada aren’t used to,” said Supt. Jeff Neuman.

“We had the right deployment to manage that.”

The Vancouver police wouldn’t speak to their operating costs, referring reporters to the host committee, who said that with invoices still being paid and spending still being tallied, the final cost likely won’t be published until early in the new year.