World Cup watch parties to be held at Riverside Park as Kamloops scores provincial funding

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The city is working on this initiative with Tkemlúps te Secwépemc, Tourism Kamloops, the Kamloops Sports Council, the Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association, and Kamloops United Football Club.

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More details and a schedule of events will be released later this spring.

“We’re excited to bring people together in Kamloops for community events and watch parties for the FIFA World Cup 2026,” added Kamloops Deputy Mayor Margot Middleton, in a statement. “Canada’s Tournament Capital has a long history being a hub for sporting events and this provincial funding allows us to showcase our vibrant, accessible, and diverse community.” 

Smeaton also told CFJC that the city’s Responsible Liquor Consumption program will be in effect for this event, meaning you’ll be able to drink your own alcohol around the band shell area between 12:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

“It is licensed through TSN, as that is who we get to get a licence from to be able to show the games,” Smeaton said. “We also had to make sure we are following all of the rules with FIFA. We will also have opportunities to license certain games where we will have alcohol and liquor sales in the park.”

Kamloops was one of 32 B.C. communities to get a share of $1.7 million of the province’s Community Event Support Fund to host these events. The City of Salmon Arm got $70,500, while the Williams Lake First Nation got $45,000. The North Okanagan Regional District also got $1,557 from the same fund.

“This is the world’s largest single-sport event and we’re making sure everyone can share in the energy, pride and social benefits of hosting,” added Anne Kang, B.C.’s Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport in the city statement.

“Through this funding, we’re creating more opportunities for people in B.C. to feel connected to the World Cup experience closer to home.”

Cross-Canada World Cup Tour coming to Kamloops

Kamloops was also announced as of 34 stops for the FIFA’s cross-Canada celebration tour, which kicks off in June. The Kamloops festivities will take place on June 18, the same day Canada plays Qatar at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver.

Details have not yet been released, but organizers are promising to bring “FIFA World Cup energy” to communities along the route.

“This really, I think, wraps up, sort of in a big hug, the diversity and the breadth and width of our country, because it will go close to coast to coast,” Victor Montagliani, FIFA vice president and CONCACAF president, is quoted as saying.

“It’s a sort of a festivity of football, where you can go watch the game on the big screen, you can go interact and have games that are going to be there for families, there’ll be food, there’ll be music. So it’s a real festival of what football and the community really is. It’s a real Canadiana feeling in the end.”