Philadelphia built a free, 39-day World Cup festival serving more than 425,000 fans. Take a look inside.

Kane said Philadelphia Soccer 2026 has been in talks with the leads of other major events since 2020, when the organization formally submitted its host-city bid alongside 17 other US cities.

When the city won its bid in June 2022, Kane was appointed CEO of Philadelphia Soccer 2026 — the organization responsible for bidding, planning, and executing the city’s FIFA World Cup programming — after previously serving as the co-lead for strategic communications for Pope Francis’ 2015 visit. Since her appointment, she’s spearheaded a yearslong marathon to coordinate fundraising, public safety, and operations for the FanFest.

“In delivering this event, and hopefully doing it in a highly professional, seamless way that puts both our fans and residents at the center of it, we are demonstrating Philadelphia’s capacity to be able to host any and all major events,” Kane said.

At Lemon Hill, the park where the festival is stationed, attendees spread out on blankets and fanned their faces with Michelon Ultra-branded hand fans while watching the big screen.

Kane said Lemon Hill was selected for a variety of factors, including its natural beauty and proximity to the city’s famed Rocky statue at the top of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s steps.

The festival organizers also collaborated with city officials, the Welcome America Festival planners, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Phillies, who are hosting the MLB All-Star Game, to choose a location that would ensure everyone had space to put on celebrations, Kane said.

While other host cities sold tickets for their local FanFests, held smaller gatherings, and raised public transit fares to cover World Cup expenses, Philadelphia’s early fundraising efforts allowed its FanFest to remain free and run for 39 days straight, Kane said.

How’d they do it? In 2020, as the city continued to prepare its bid, former host committee chair and Comcast executive David Cohen approached local businesses for private investments, saying they could play a major role in boosting Philly’s global reputation.

“To be successful, we need everyone in the city to be part of the bid in some way,” Cohen said in February 2020 at the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia Mayoral Luncheon. Sponsors, including Comcast, the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, signed on, as did the Philadelphia Eagles, 76ers, and Phillies.

In total, Philadelphia Soccer 2026 raised between $60 million and $65 million in private funds to supplement its estimated $77 million to $82 million in public funding for the event, the organization told Front Office Sports.

Kane said that her team wanted to be inclusive of history buffs and soccer fans alike who can enjoy their interests while exploring new-to-them elements of Philly culture.

“We’ve always thought about the FIFA World Cup as not an either-or choice for visitors, fans, and residents. We’ve thought of it as an all-or-both,” Kane told Business Insider.

For example, the city’s longtime Phlash bus — a nonprofit run, seasonal transit program managed that connects 19 monuments from east to west — and tickets run $5 for a full day of access.

I took the Phlash from Market Street in Center City to the art museum, a half-mile walk to the festival. Though the bus was slightly delayed due to July 4-related street closures, the air-conditioned ride was quick and scenic.

Volunteers, in their blue and neon green kits, were stationed throughout the festival, ready to assist locals and visitors with directions and recommendations. Some were also at the stadium and top historic sites.

Jack Heely, a volunteer who lives in Montgomery County and drove nearly an hour each way for his nine days working the FanFest, said the opportunity was the culmination of his lifelong love of soccer. He said he started playing at 6. Now 62, Heely found himself cheering on and playing with young attendees on the mini pitch.

“This is a golden opportunity to give something back to a game I have adored and been in love with for that length of time. And it’s a great mingling of cultures to me, and not to drag it in this direction, but it’s proof that we really don’t need politicians to get along as human beings,” Heely told Business Insider.

In the spirit of pintrading, a tradition among soccer fans, Heely made Philly-themed pins featuring the Liberty Bell and skyline, passed them out to kids, and swapped pins with international attendees during his shifts.

Many of the FanFest attendees Business Insider interviewed traveled from outside the city to get in on the action.

Ricardo Ramirez, a fan of the Mexican team, said he drove over an hour from Reading, PA, to attend the FanFest. He said he had so much fun during his initial visit that he came back less than a week later.

Others, like Caleb Evans, came from the western suburbs of Philadelphia. Evans, who was at FanFest for his third time, said he was surprised by the turnout for the Mexico-Ecuador game and enjoyed the energy.

This time, he was there to watch Cristiano Ronaldo play for Portugal. “This is probably Ronaldo’s last World Cup, unless he pulls a LeBron James,” Evans said.

Throughout the festival, there were also child-friendly activities like face painting, pickup soccer matches, and skills challenges.

Heely, the volunteer, said the adults got in on the action too when four French men and four Iraqi men met in the beer line and challenged each other to a match.

“We made an exception and let the big guys play four on four, and they posed afterward with their national flags. It was what the World Cup is all about, no pretense or anything. It was the love of one thing. So our sameness is what we celebrate here, not our differences,” Heely said.

Stationed at stalls around the festival, local eateries highlighted the range of homegrown and international cuisine the city has to offer.

A spokesperson for Philadelphia Soccer 2026 said they received 200 food-truck vendor applications and approved more than 60 food trucks to participate in a rotating schedule.

Attendees and event planners had to navigate unexpected Fanfest closures and schedule changes due to high winds, temperatures in the 100s, and thunderstorms.

“Rather than building a single fixed plan, we had to design flexible protocols that could adapt to whatever conditions arose,” a spokesperson for Philadelphia Soccer 2026 told Business Insider.

Preparations included securing tents and structures against the wind, ensuring the grounds could handle heavy rainfall, and installing misting tents and water refill stations, the spokesperson said.

Business Insider also spotted many shady spots throughout Lemon Hill, including lush trees and shaded tents with picnic tables.

City dwellers living near Lemon Hill took advantage of the nearby experience. Chloe Martins, a soccer fan supporting Portugal, told Business Insider the FanFest crowds were anything but a nuisance.

“Even though we’re not at the actual game, I love seeing everyone in our neighborhood walking around to different bars and restaurants, people coming from the FanFest, and representing their countries,” Martins said. “It’s such a good vibe.”

Kerolos Akraz, who lives in Philly and was at FanFest for the attendance-record-breaking Brazil-Haiti game on June 19, said the event’s liveliness and free entry encouraged him to come a second time despite the heat wave: “I think you get almost the same experience as if you were in a stadium, but for free. So why not?”