PNE Welcomes World Football Fans –

For 28 days in June and July, Hastings Sunrise will be part of the world’s largest sports spectacle – FIFA World Cup 2026!

The family-friendly FIFA Fan Zone at Hastings Park will draw up to 25,000 fans of football (or soccer, as it is known in North America) daily to watch match broadcasts and participate in fan activities throughout the venue.

Just like at PNE Fair times, neighbours can expect extra traffic, noise and temporary closures or limited access at some public spaces on site, such as the Hastings Skateboard Park, the Sanctuary, Momiji Gardens and the Italian Gardens, starting in late May.

But they can also enjoy free viewing at large screens throughout the site. There’s shelter from the weather – sun or rain! – at the new world-class Freedom Mobile Arch, a covered open-air amphitheatre with soaring mass-timber roof designed to provide vista views and cover for up to 10,000 at a time.

Match viewing, music and other entertainment are scheduled on most days between 8 a.m. and midnight. The City of Vancouver, the PNE and event partners have a plan to manage noise and disruption. Entertainment and live matches will be broadcast at sound levels similar to those at other major events there. The amphitheatre has acoustic features, including a mass-timber roof, an acoustic sound wall, landscape buffering, and optimized speaker placement.

No major road closures are planned, but there could be localized traffic control, curb lane restrictions and changes to on-street parking regulations. Free valet bike parking will be available nearby at Hastings Park (Pender and Lillooet) and Callister Park (Renfrew and Cambridge).

Bus service will be increased, and alternative travel modes like scooters will be accommodated.

On site, there’ll be food trucks, restaurants, bars and concession stands. But Patricia Barnes, executive director of the East Village Business Improvement Association, invites visitors to browse outside the Fan Zone as well.

“We’re excited!” says Patricia. “We’re really hopeful that we’ll see an uptick of business in the area.”

Her message to local residents: “Don’t be afraid to come – there’ll be access and parking. The parking lot behind London Drugs will remain open for shoppers.”

The Hastings Sunrise Community Policing Centre expects to be busier, as large crowds come into the area. “But we love it that people will come to the neighbourhood and experience what we have to offer,” says Clair MacGougan, its executive director. “Also…. Go Canada Go!”

From June 11 to July 19, matches will be held at 16 sites across Canada, Mexico and the United States. Vancouver will host seven matches between June 13 and July 7, two of them featuring Canada’s national team. All will be shown on big screens at the Fan Zone.