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Toronto sold barely a third of its premium FIFA Fan Fest Tickets, early data shows, potentially damaging a plan it launched to help manage escalating costs during the 2026 World Cup.
The Fan Fest events were held from June 11 to July 19 at Fort York Historic Site and The Bentway, screening soccer matches and hosting performances from bands and DJs.
The festivals, described as a “key initiative” in the contract Toronto signed with FIFA, were originally meant to be a free benefit of hosting.
But, as the tournament approached, escalating costs saw Toronto add paid access to try and raise revenue.
Now, early data obtained by Global News reveals the city sold less than 40 per cent of its premium tickets — raising questions about how high the final tab will be.
Almost every day, according to the figures, huge swathes of premium tickets went unsold. In fact, only Canada’s first game of the World Cup — held on June 12 — effectively sold out.
Despite bleak sales data, the city said the festival — which ran for 23 days, with two cancellations for weather — was a success.
“Overall attendance at FIFA Fan Festival Toronto was strong,” the city wrote in a statement sent to Global News.
“Attendance varied by day due to factors such as weather, the match schedule and the teams playing. The festival was primarily a free public event, with premium ticket sales representing one component of the tournament’s overall financial plan.”
At one point in the build up to the World Cup, Toronto had toyed with the idea of charging admission to Fan Fest to help cover cost overruns, before a wave of backlash forced politicians and city staff to think again.
Previously, staff had said the increased costs would require the city to charge entry to the festivals, which had once been advertised as a benefit for the $380 million Toronto paid as a men’s tournament host city.
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The plan the city ultimately settled on was to sell some premium tickets and keep general admission free.
Garden Pavilion tickets cost $100, while the Pitchside Terrace went for $150. The most expensive tickets cost $300 for a tier called the Casamigos Clubhouse.
Even with those premium tickets, the city expected to be roughly $5 million short of the funds it needed to host the festivals.
But early data accessed using freedom of information laws suggests the loss could be worse, with the vast majority of premium tickets unsold.
Information obtained by Global News shows ticket sales for every day of the FIFA Fan Fest, except for the final. It said 3,300 paid tickets were available every day for a total of 75,900 over the course of the tournament. Just 28,456 tickets were sold in total, roughly 37 per cent of the premium tickets.
The data was compiled by city staff on July 14, five days before the end of the World Cup, meaning it captured most — but not all — premium sales.
While ticket sales were low most days, the second day of FanFest almost sold out of premium spots.
Canada’s home opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto was by far the most popular day, with only 24 of the 3,300 premium tickets left unsold. On July 2, when Portugal played in Toronto, more than 90 per cent of premium tickets were sold.
“We had some very successful days with our premium sales, but the full accounting of that will happen in the coming weeks and months ahead,” Sharon Bollenbach, the executive director of Toronto’s FIFA World Cup Secretariat, said.
“(We) had significant crowds both in general admission and in our premium for those days (the festival ran).”
The total cost of Fan Fest and how much the city is set to lose hosting it isn’t yet entirely clear, but ticket sales offer a snapshot of what the final invoice could be.
Over the course of the event, Toronto sold 5,334 of its most expensive FanFest tickets for a total of $1.6 million in gross revenue. The Pitchside Terrace tickets brought in $455,000, and the Garden Pavilion category made a touch over $2 million.
That means, over the course of the tournament, premium Fan Fest tickets resulted in $4.1 million in sales before deductions and processing fees are taken into account.
How much of that will go to Toronto is unclear.
A staff report in April suggested the vendor would take 10 per cent of ticket revenue, as well as 75 cents for each of the 343,000 free general admission tickets issued.
“Premium Ticket sales are expected to generate approximately $3.0 million in revenue to partially offset the costs associated with the recommended Non-Competitive Procurement,” that report said before the tournament, without indicating what per centage of premium tickets were expected to be snapped up.
Toronto city manager Paul Johnson said that ticket revenue would never have made up the $5 million shortfall predicted for FanFest, but that other financial boons would help.
“In terms of would it all have come from VIP sales and sponsorships to begin with? The answer to that is no,” he said on Monday. There is no way to fill that gap solely on sponsorships and VIP sales.”
The city insisted Fan Fest had been a success.
“Throughout FIFA Fan Festival, the City of Toronto used a range of strategies to encourage attendance, including releasing more free tickets, expanded programming and additional operating days,” a spokesperson wrote in a statement.
The city said the full FIFA financial picture will be reported publicly in “early 2027.”
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