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The City of Toronto has now said it can provide the vast majority of tickets to its 2026 FIFA world cup fan festival at no cost, changing course from a plan to charge $10 per person for general admission last week.
The move follows backlash from councillors when it was revealed at last Monday’s executive committee that the tickets would come at a cost, because the city had promised in 2025 that the festival would be free for Torontonians.
In a report before city council published Wednesday morning, staff say of the 20,000 tickets available to the festival every day, 15,600 will be no cost general admission and 500 will be no cost dedicated to community groups. There is still a plan to sell some tickets though, with staff proposing to charge between $100 and $300 for 3,900 premium tickets everyday.
In last Monday’s report, staff said the ticket sales were required so the city wouldn’t go over its hosting budget and to ensure the festival doesn’t become overcrowded.
But the revised recommendations, made at the request of Mayor Olivia Chow, would “go above and beyond the original $380 million budget.” It says “other third-party” revenues are being pursued to close any remaining funding gap.
The City of Toronto’s proposal to charge for tickets to the 2026 FIFA World Cup fan festival has been met with backlash from councillors after it was originally promised to be free. CBC’s Naama Weingarten breaks down what we know.
Councillors will vote on the report during this week’s council session, which is schedule to run on Wednesday and Thursday.
“I hope councillors will support it so that everyone who wants to come to Fort York, no matter what their income level is, can enjoy the games,” Chow said to reporters Wednesday morning.
FIFA drops last-minute tickets Wednesday
With exactly 50 days to go to the start of the World Cup, FIFA dropped last-minute tickets to all 104 games for sale on Wednesday at 11 a.m.
Tickets are available on a first-come, first-serve basis, said the international soccer organization.
Fans hoping to get seats after 11:40 a.m. are likely going to be stuck waiting in a packed digital queue as the website warned of “extremely high” demand.
But FIFA said there are still opportunities to get tickets throughout the tournament.
“Additional tickets will continue to be released to the public on an ongoing basis up until the final on Sunday, 19 July,” it said.
Over five million tickets have been sold this year as 48 teams get ready to battle for victory, said the organization.