The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a year away. Is Vancouver prepared?

On Wednesday, the mayor and guests host an event and reveal the countdown clock for the June 2026 launch. In honor of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, British Columbia Tourism Minister Spencer Chandra Herbert, and other officials launched a countdown clock on Wednesday. However, concerns have been raised over hotel capacity and security in the area. (CBC/Ben Nelms)There are still concerns about where soccer fans will stay in Vancouver and the cost of maintaining municipal safety one year before the FIFA World Cup. At a ceremony commemorating the tournament’s one-year countdown on Wednesday, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim told reporters that the city had started developing security arrangements even before it was officially announced that it would host seven 2026 World Cup matches. He claims that the plans were “augmented” following the April Lapu-Lapu Day festival, where a man crashed his automobile into a crowd, killing eleven people.Sim says the city will “make the necessary investments to make sure that people are safe in the city of Vancouver” during the event, but the security expenses have not been made public. B.C.’s minister of tourism, arts, culture, and sport, Spencer Chandra Herbert, said the province would disclose a “full costing” later this month, revising its World Cup expectations.