The World Cup, with all its games, events, and excitement, means that the Kansas City region will be front and center, in the spotlight and on the world stage. From June 16 through July 11, more than 650,000 fans will arrive from around the world to cheer on their teams, and over those 26 days KC will have plenty for them to see and do – some soccer-centric, some not – before and after game days, not to mention all the days in-between.
KC Heart Gateway
FIFA Fan Festival
The FIFA Fan Festival at the National WWI Museum and Memorial, will be “Ground Zero” for everything KC/FIFA related. It will be a free, 18-day celebration. Revelers will enter through the KC Heart Gateway, a 65-foot-tall heart-shaped entrance on the Memorial’s south lawn. For two and a half weeks, visitors will enjoy local and international fare, entertainers, and watching the matches on two stages, one a 45-foot by 25-foot video board with additional screens along the sides. The museum itself, named by Trip Advisor as one of the top 25 museums in the United States, will feature a special, soccer-themed exhibit, The Beautiful Game, running through September 14, 2026.
The Power and Light District hosting a World Cup qualifying game watch party
The Power & Light District
Just a short walk from the Festival, Kansas City’s premier downtown entertainment spot, the Power & Light District is nine blocks of more than 50 bars, restaurants, and shops surrounding the KC Live! Courtyard. That’s where thousands of soccer fans gathered for watch parties during the Cup’s qualifying games, and the District will continue to offer hospitality and up the excitement with extended hours, World Cup-themed events, and live entertainment. Visit Soccer in the City for details about what’s happening and when.
Go North KC
North Kansas City is a rapidly developing area across the river from downtown KC, just across the bridge from the Kansas City Current’s CPKC Stadium, the first stadium in the world built specifically for a professional women’s sports team. Organized by Go North KC, communities throughout the area will be hosting World Cup events with food trucks, watch parties, family events, and a street party on Armour Road, the main thoroughfare through the area’s historic downtown, for the final game. The area is full of non-soccer activities year-round, including the Chicken and Pickle pickleball complex, the family-friendly amusement and water parks Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun, and the Lewis and Clark Trail.
Theater
The Kaufman Center for the Performing Arts
Kansas City’s premier performance centers will be offering up a full schedule of entertainment options. The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, designed by famed architect Moshe Safdie, was declared by a New York Times critic as “one of the most enjoyable, exhilarating arts centers I’ve been to, a moving celebration of a city’s upward trajectory.”
Programming during the World Cup includes the official touring production of the Broadway musical Mrs. Doubtfire, the Kansas City Symphony performing programs of Rachmaninoff and Gershwin, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Jonathan Van Ness: Hot & Healed, the Punch Brothers, and more. Information and tickets are available through the Center’s website.
Starlight Theater is a 75+ year-old amphitheater in Swope Park, about seven miles from downtown and near the Kansas City Zoo. Opened in 1950 as part of Kansas City’s 100th anniversary, the nearly 8,000 seat venue will host touring productions of Broadway hits Hadestown and A Beautiful Noise: A Neil Diamond Musical, as well as Paul Simon in concert. Information and tickets are available through Starlight’s website.
Art
Kansas City’s vibrant visual arts scene will be on full display and easily accessible during the World Cup. First Fridays in the Crossroads Arts District draw thousands of visitors every month to one of the most concentrated gallery districts in the nation, featuring over 30 art galleries and more than 100 independent studios and 400 local artists. The monthly event features food trucks, live music and performances. Lively enough throughout the year, it promises to be even more so during the World Cup as international visitors take in the scene.
The Main Stage at the FIFA Fan Festival
A warm welcome to the world
The World Cup will bring the matches and fans, and Kansas City will deliver everything they need to enjoy themselves outside of the stadiums, designated watch areas, and their hotels. For just a few weeks, Kansas City won’t just host the world, it will give visitors from every country and culture something to remember long after the final whistle.
