With FIFA World Cup here, KC’s Fan Fest is bracing for large and worldly crowds
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- KC2026 says registrations are trending about 60% local and 40% non-local.
- Fan Fest limits daily attendance to 25,000 registered visitors with digital passes.
- Fan Fest officially opens in early June and runs through July 11.
Some numbers are shifting for the FIFA Fan Fest in Kansas City.
A couple of weeks ago, KC2026 CEO Pam Kramer saw a solid majority of registrations coming from fans around the region for 18 days of soccer celebrations at the World War I Museum and Memorial.
But as the FIA World Cup opener on Thursday in Mexico City and the opening game in Kansas City next Tuesday approach, the numbers suggest a broader scope — fans registering from abroad.
“I think we’re going to end up more 60/40,” Kramer said Tuesday during a soft opening of Kansas City’s FIFA Fan Fest.
That’s 60 percent from the Kansas City area, 40 percent from outside the region, and 15 percent of those from other nations.
“We know Argentina and Ecuador fans are registering, and we expect fans from Mexico to be here,” Kramer said.
Argentina plays the first game in Kansas City on June 16, and Ecuador meets Curacao here on June 20.
Kramer didn’t provide a total number of registrations. But the Fan Fest is limited to 25,000 registered visitors each day. A digital pass is required for entry. Attendance is free, although there are passes available for purchase with premium services.
The Fan Fest officially opens Thursday. It also will operate Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It’s closed Monday and reopens on Tuesday, the day of the first game in Kansas City, between Argentina and Algeria. The final day of operation for the Fan Fest will be July 11.
A 65-foot heart-shaped entrance — welcome to the Heartland — will greet visitors. Several local restaurants, a huge FIFA store and numerous activations are part of the grounds.
“This is Kansas City at its best,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said. “At this point, I’m sleeping good every night because, frankly, we’ve done the setup, we’ve done the preparation. We obviously will deal with any contingencies that come up.”
Concerts by The Chainsmokers, Flo Rida, Cimafunk, Gabby Barrett, Sheryl Crow, The All-American Rejects and Tech N9ne headline the Fan Fest lineup.
Also scheduled: three pet-friendly days for dogs.
“If you don’t have the money to get into a match, this is what the World Cup is all about,” Lucas said.
Check out these photos of the setup inside Union Station from Star photographer Emily Curiel:
This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 7:10 PM with the headline "With FIFA World Cup here, KC’s Fan Fest is bracing for large and worldly crowds."