ATLANTA — The FIFA World Cup is coming to Atlanta, and the state of Georgia is preparing not only for security but also to take advantage of the opportunity to show itself to the world.
Next summer, fans from Spain, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and viewers from around the world will see those World Cup matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Channel 2’s Richard Elliot spoke exclusively with Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday about how the event will impact the state and Atlanta’s economy.
“I think really, this will be an Olympic-type moment like it was back in 1996,” Kemp said. “A lot of people are coming to the state, going to be great exposure for the city of Atlanta and the state of Georgia, and a lot of coordination with federal, state and local partnerships to make this happen on a security standpoint, hospitality standpoint, making sure, you know, the city looks good and that we’re ready to do that.”
On Saturday, the city of Atlanta learned which teams will play at Mercedes-Benz Stadium next summer, including the current world’s No. 1 team: Spain.
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Kemp expects Atlanta streets will be full of soccer fans from around the world, and he said the state is working with the city on security plans.
“That is still a work in progress. I mean, we’ve been working with the city for, you know, about two years now on the security plan,” Kemp said.
But while thousands of fans will be in Atlanta, billions will be watching the matches on TV all around the world.
This is a chance, he said, to showcase Georgia and its capital city. And like the Olympics, it’s a good chance to show investors that Georgia is open for business.
“That’s what this is all about. It’s about selling our capital city and our state, really, to the international marketplace and the rest of the country,” Kemp said.
The city of Atlanta will now be waiting to see how much of the tens of billions of federal dollars earmarked for security it will get.
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