2026 World Cup Draws 6.5 Million Fans, Filling 99.7% of Seats Without Major Incidents
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 20
2026 World Cup Draws 6.5 Million Fans, Filling 99.7% of Seats Without Major Incidents
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 20
Summary
More than 6.5 million fans attended the 2026 FIFA World Cup across 16 host cities in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, nearly doubling the previous attendance record.
Stadiums ran at 99.7% capacity, FIFA Fan Festivals drew another 7.7 million visitors, and tournament content generated more than 20 billion video views worldwide.
U.S. organizers said the event passed without major security incidents after federal coordination teams backed local authorities with $625 million in funding and $500 million for counter-drone technology.
11 U.S. host cities anchored the tournament’s domestic footprint, with local gains including Seattle businesses reporting sales up to 10 times average and Philadelphia projecting a $770 million economic impact.
The White House task force cast the tournament as a test run for future mega-events, saying the cross-border operation with Canada, Mexico and FIFA left lasting security and logistics capabilities ahead of the Olympics.