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FIFA World Cup 2026 Travel Guide

Vancouver has been on the global sports stage for more than a decade, ever since it hosted the 2010 Winyer Olympis Games. It also has a proven track record for hosting major soccer events, such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup final, held in Vancouver in 2015. Its games are bound to light up the city, as the Vancouver World Cup matches will be at BC Place — a venue smack in the middle of downtown just steps from sports bars waiting to welcome fans before and after the matches.

Here’s what you need to know if you’re attending the Vancouver World Cup matches.

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• About BC Place
• Tickets and matches
• Getting to Vancouver
• Getting around during the World Cup
• Details on the FIFA Fan Zone
• Hotels, soccer bars, and what else to do
• More about Vancouver

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Venue: BC Place

BC Place opened in 1983 as the home of the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League and the NASL-era Vancouver Whitecaps, more than a decade before Major League Soccer launched in 1996. The first event held there was a June 19, 1983 exhibition game between the BC Lions and the Calgary Stampeders. The stadium originally had an inflatable roof, which lasted until 2010, when it got a retractable cable-supported roof as part of a $514 million renovation; it can open and close in just 20 minutes. that can open or close in just 20 minutes. It also has the largest scoreboard in Canada, and the second-largest in north America (second only to AT&T Stadium in Dallas).

For World Cup matches, it’ll seat 54,000 fans — on the small side compared to many of the US stadiums, but larger than Toronto. It’s not its first foray into the World Cup, as it hosted the 2015 Women’s World Cup Final, in which the US defeated Japan. But the biggest crowds it’s ever packed in aren’t sports related, with a 2023 Ed Sheeran concert drawing a whopping 65,061 fans inside BC Place.

The Vancouver World Cup schedule

Vancouver will host five group stage matches, including two with Team Canada, plus a Round of 32 and a Round of 16 knockout game:

• Saturday, June 13, 2026: Australia vs. UEFA Playoff C Winner — Group D, 3 PM PT
• Thursday, June 18, 2026: Canada vs. Qatar — Group B, 7 PM PT
• Sunday, June 21, 2026: New Zealand vs. Egypt — Group G, Noon PT
• Wednesday, June 24, 2026: Switzerland vs. Canada — Group B, 7 PM PT
• Friday, June 26, 2026: New Zealand vs. Belgium — Group G, 3 PM PT
• Thursday, July 2, 2026: Round of 32 — Group B winner vs. best third-place team (Groups E/F/G/I/J), 7 PM PT
• Tuesday, July 7, 2026: Round of 16 — Winner Match 85 vs. Winner Match 87, 7 PM PT

As of mid-March 2026, the only people who can buy World Cup tickets are those who have won various lotteries. It’s expected that there will be a general purchase window in April in which anyone can buy the tickets that remain, but no details have been announced. In spring 2026, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said tickets for all matches are effectively sold out, save for a small amount of tickets “on reserve” that will be part of the April ticket buying window. On ticket resale sites like SeatGeek, tickets for the earliest matches start around $400 each.

How to get to Vancouver

Attendees will need to fly into Vancouver International Airport (YVR), British Columbia’s primary airport and one of the busiest airports in Canada. That said, you could also fly into Seattle or Bellingham and drive across the border, if for some reason flying internationally is less than ideal. However, YVR has extensive nonstop service across North America, Europe, and Asia, with frequent flights from major US hubs, and direct routes from cities such as London, Frankfurt, and Tokyo, among many others.

Getting from the airport to downtown Vancouver is straightforward. The SkyTrain Canada Line connects YVR directly with the city center in about 25 minutes, arriving at Waterfront Station — a major transit hub within walking distance of many hotels. From Waterfront Station, you can switch to the SeaBus, which connects downtown Vancouver with North Vancouver via Lonsdale Quay. The trip across the water only takes about 12 minutes and ferries run frequently.

If you have more days to spend and want a slow-paced way to get to the city, Amtrak operates the cross-border Amtrak Cascades route between Eugene, Oregon, and Vancouver, with scenic service along Puget Sound and the Salish Sea. You’ll arrive at Waterfront Station.

Getting around town during the World Cup

Getting to BC Place for Vancouver’s World Cup matches is straightforward, thanks to the city’s efficient public transit and walkable downtown.

BC Place is in downtown Vancouver and best reached via the city’s SkyTrain, as the Stadium–Chinatown Station (on the Expo Line) is just steps from the stadium. However, if you’re closer to the Canada Line, you can get off at the Vancouver City Centre Station and walk to BC Place in about 10 minutes. You can pay with a Compass card, or just use a touch-to-pay program like Apple Wallet.

If you’re staying downtown, you may just be able to walk to BC Place, as the neiighborhood is pedestrian-friendly and relatively compact. There are also bike share stations nearby, though bikes may get snapped up fast with so many people in town all trying to get to the same place.

Driving to BC Place is possible, but not recommended. Parking in downtown Vancouver is both expensive and limited, especially during major events. There will also be extensive road closures around the stadium on match days, so attendees planning to drive may be better off parking near a SkyTrain station and taking public transit for the final stretch, rather than attempting to drive into the city.

On match days, the city will increase the amount and frequency of nearly all its public transit options, including bus services to the official Fan Festival, more frequent SkyTrains, and late-night SeaBus service.

The official Vancouver World Cup Fan Zone

If you can’t get match tickets, Vancouver will still have a major free public gathering space during the tournament. The official Vancouver FIFA Fan Festival will run from June 11 to July 19, 2026 at the PNE grounds in Hastings Park, where organizers are building the experience around a new 10,000-capacity amphitheatre. At the festival, you’ll be able to watch live match broadcasts with live music and entertainment from Canadian and global artists between matches. You should also expect plenty of food and beverage vendors, interactive fan activities ranging from Skee-Ball to giant paint-by-numbers, cultural programming, and family-friendly activities. This is the same site that hosts the enormous annual PNE Fair, so it’s well suited to accommodating enormous crowds. Admission to the Fan Fest is and official merchandise. General admission will be free, though the host committee plans to sell some yet-to-be-determined paid attendance packages. As with BC Place, parking will be very limited.

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