City of Surrey to host three free FIFA World Cup fan zones with live match screenings
Three primary locations will serve as the City’s fan zones: Surrey Civic Plaza, Cloverdale Agriplex, and South Surrey Athletic Park. City officials say additional venues could still be added before the tournament begins.
The Cloverdale Agriplex location will provide an indoor viewing environment, while events at Civic Plaza in Surrey City Centre and South Surrey Athletic Park will take place outdoors. Both outdoor venues will include tented seating areas to offer shade for spectators.
Each fan zone will broadcast matches live on large LED screens and include additional activities designed to create a festival-style atmosphere. The municipal government notes visitors can expect live entertainment, community soccer activities, food trucks, and beer gardens at the sites.
The City plans to officially launch the fan zones on June 12 at Surrey Civic Plaza, coinciding with a match involving Canada’s men’s national team. The opening event will feature entertainment and activities aimed at bringing fans together to support the national squad.
Surrey Civic Plaza. (Google Maps)
Each fan zone location will operate on select dates for the tournament period. Full schedules and dates will be announced closer to the event.
By hosting events in several of Surrey’s major town centres, the initiative is also expected to draw visitors and support nearby businesses.
The Surrey Soccer Fan Zones are separate from the official FIFA Fan Festival planned by the City of Vancouver for the PNE fairgrounds at Hastings Park, which will also run throughout the tournament period. This large-scale festival — comparable to the LiveCity Yaletown and LiveCity Downtown celebrations held during the 2010 Winter Olympics — has been allocated a $20-million operating and programming budget. Organizers say the site will feature food and beverage offerings, cultural programming, sponsor activations, and FIFA merchandise sales. The fairgrounds’ new 10,000-seat amphitheatre will be used for live match screenings and concerts during the tournament, and the overall fan festival capacity is expected to exceed 25,000 people per day.
More details about the FIFA Fan Festival at the PNE are expected to be announced soon. Other communities and attractions across Metro Vancouver are also expected to unveil their own FIFA World Cup-related events, although these will not feature FIFA branding because they are not official events.
Fan festivals and viewing zones are designed to bring the atmosphere of the global tournament to local communities, allowing residents and visitors to experience the excitement even if they are not attending matches in person. This strategy was also deployed for the suburban cities during the 2010 Olympics.
BC Place Stadium in downtown Vancouver will host seven matches, including five group stage matches and two knockout round matches.
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