FIFA Fan Festival kicks off in Atlanta as World Cup begins

ATLANTA — City, state, and host committee leaders officially welcome fans from around the world during the ceremonial opening of FIFA Fan Festival Atlanta as the city kicks off its FIFA World Cup 2026 celebrations.

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The FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off Thursday in Mexico, and fans in Atlanta fans will see their first match Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

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Fans, city officials and metro Atlanta residents are all counting down each second before the World Cup gets here.

In Atlanta, World Cup fans are about to get a huge welcome with the city’s first big FIFA event.

Channel 2’s Berndt Petersen was downtown at Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park, where the FIFA Fan Festival will start.

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The park is the official home for the festival and Channel 2 Action News got to tour the area ahead of the festival’s start.

All 22 acres of Centennial Olympic Park ere transformed into an “all soccer and entertainment” form, including a Jumbotron.

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The festival at the park will be open for 18 days during the course of the FIFA World Cup.

That means live music, including big name acts, FIFA and Olympic Soccer superstars will do meet and greets.

There’s also going to be a big “kid zone” full of fun games and even three-on-three soccer if you’re up for it.

“The message is, we’re ready. We’re ready to welcome the world and ready to welcome our family here in Atlanta to our doorstep,” Joe Bocherer, Georgia World Congress Center Chief Commercial Officer, said. “You see the Jumbotron that’ll be playing all the matches. We feel really good, we’re excited!”

The FIFA Fan Festival starts Thursday afternoon with a ceremonial first kick.

The event will bring Gov. Brian Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens together, but we don’t know yet which one will get to put their foot to the soccer ball.

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