With the FIFA World Cup approaching, Seattle is preparing to host its first match on June 15 at the venue renamed Seattle Stadium for the tournament. City officials say the experience for fans will extend far beyond the stadium itself, with public viewing options planned across the city.
Randy Engstrom of Seattle Center said the site has been described as the living room of Seattle since its inception in 1962, and the goal now is to turn it into a global living room during the tournament. He said visitors can expect more than 60 games shown over the span of 39 days, across multiple viewing sites, free of charge, in a setting meant to welcome any family.
According to Engstrom, the Armory and the radio station KEXP will be showing all of the games. On home match days, the activity will surge out to the Mural Amphitheater, where a full festival environment is planned for matches such as a United States versus Australia game.
Jorge, the World Cup activation lead for Visit Seattle, shared what he described as a first-of-its-kind offering tied to the tournament. Visit Seattle will stage drone shows at Seattle Center around the competition, in a format that has not been done before.
The drone shows will display scoreboards in the sky, showing the score of the match that took place that night. On each day that there is a match in Seattle, the drones will rise into the sky next to the Space Needle, light up the skyline at Seattle Center, and show the score alongside the flags of the competing nations.
Officials suggested that the best vantage point to experience the drone show would be near the International Fountain, comparable to where people gather to watch the New Year display at the Space Needle. The idea, they said, is to give people a reason to look up at the sky rather than at their phones.
Jorge said the project came together because Seattle is known for doing things differently, and the team decided to go for it to show that to the world. He added that the city is ready, counting down the days to the first Seattle match, with the drone show forming part of a broader set of events organized alongside Seattle Center, the local organizing committee and other city partners.