Atlanta Fan Festival: Feat of a Lifetime
Over a year before the first whistle at the 2026 World Cup — slated to be the biggest one to date — was blown, Solomon Group, in collaboration with WINK, was already working hard with FIFA to ensure that all the football fans — especially those unable or unwilling to attend the matches themselves — had an unforgettable celebration.
Atlanta Fan Fest, one of 20 fan fests across three countries dedicated to streaming matches, providing entertainment, and showcasing local hospitality, kicked off on June 11 and quickly became one of the biggest standouts of the entire World Cup.
The Fan Fest
The experience took place in Centennial Olympic Park, a historic 22-acre public park in downtown Atlanta, which hosted the 1996 Summer Olympics 30 years ago. We wanted to guarantee that the celebration would be worthy of its location and that the fans, traveling from dozens of countries and cities to attend, would make the trip of a lifetime. So, we jam-packed the event with entertainment, like Atlanta artists Ludacris and CeeLo Green headlining, local vendors representing the city’s culinary splendor, and, of course, fan zones with giant screens broadcasting the matches.
Despite the fans not being present in the arenas themselves, the atmosphere of the park more than made up for it. This was where Cabo Verde fans celebrated the historic 0–0 draw between the small nation and mighty Spain: an accomplishment akin to a win for the first-time participant. Where Haitian fans celebrated their team’s performance — despite losing to Morocco — including scoring the first FIFA World Cup goal in 52 years. Moments and memories that will outlast the final whistle.
Since the whole world was going to converge in Atlanta for this uniting celebration of sport and culture, we made sure to represent bits of music, food, and traditions from everywhere. “They played Congolese music, I was so surprised,” said one fan representing his home country.
Bigger Than Most
The festival made headlines immediately. It set the record for the highest attendance among all U.S. host cities, with nearly 275,000 visitors in the first 10 days. By the 16th day, the number reached 453,000 people, all there to celebrate the world’s most popular game in the right way: with music, great food, and, most importantly, a community.
Despite the extreme heat that opened the festival and several delays and disruptions, which we handled with professionalism and efficiency, the fans couldn’t have been happier with the experience, according to the latest CBS News Atlanta report. “I don’t want it to end,” said one visitor, while another referred to the festival as “the best days of [their] life.”
Results that Exceeded Expectations
From the get-go, we aimed for this festival to be a convergence of sports, culture, its host city, and the rest of the world: great music converging a variety of genres, food that introduced visitors to some of Atlanta’s best, memorabilia that could work to keep the memories people made alive for decades, and a deep connection of a community brought together by sport.
Two weeks later, we can safely say we more than succeeded. Attendees from all around the world were coming together to celebrate every single day, even when their own countries were not playing. Kids traded scarves with fans from countries they had only read about. “Atlanta wasn’t simply hosting the world,” said Sheen magazine, “Atlanta became the world.”
We were so thrilled with the remarkable success of the experience that we decided to extend the hours for the final two days as a thank-you to the hundreds of thousands of fans who took time out of their lives to attend.
This is exactly the kind of record-breaking, unforgettable experiences the world’s biggest brands trust us to deliver. If you wonder what it could look like for your company, we’d love to talk.
