By Charlotte Robertson
Fifty thousand people descended upon the Great Lawn in Central Park on Sunday, July 19, to watch the 2026 World Cup Final. Hosted by Global Citizen, an advocacy platform dedicated to ending world poverty, it was billed as the largest FIFA watch party in the world.
At MetLife Stadium, a mere 15 miles away, some 80,000 people paid upwards of $10,000 to watch Spain and Argentina face off, considered the most expensive sporting event of all time. But for football fans in Central Park, who had received their tickets via lottery, enjoying the championship game on one of four 57-foot LED screens was free.
“In the most international city on earth, you didn’t need thousands of dollars to be part of the world’s game,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced.
Granted, the well-heeled could go to a VIP tent on the Great Lawn, filled with influencers, that cost $1,200 to enter. The main advantage was access to a bar.
The watch party gates opened at 12 p.m., three hours before the match kickoff at 3 p.m. A line to enter the Great Lawn began at the corner of Central Park West and 69th Street, with all other entrances between West 69th Street and West 81st Street blocked to the public. Citibikes were removed from the surrounding docks, to make room for those waiting in line.
Representatives from Old Spice and Cloudar, Drake’s new perfume, passed out free sticks of deodorant and spray samples, respectively. In the park, a lone MAGA enthusiast distributed fake million-dollar bills printed with President Trump’s likeness. Bikers and joggers raced alongside the line’s barricade, which was frequently jangled open by people attempting to cross to the east side.
By the time fans reached the area of the Great Lawn at 81st Street, they were herded into two lines and funneled through metal detectors. A list of prohibited items, which included backpacks, chairs, musical instruments, water squirt guns, weapons and selfie sticks, was posted around various areas.
From 69th to 81st, the wait time was about an hour—paling in comparison to the two-and-a-half wait for DoorDash’s grab-and-go lunch, for which the first 10,000 fans to enter the park received a free voucher. The big red tents distributing sandwiches and Coke products were understaffed with just a handful of employees struggling to keep up with the hungry crowd.
DoorDash also sponsored a live giveaway, projected on each of the four screens, for three lucky attendees. One received a year’s worth of free DoorDash, another a signed jersey from David Beckham, and a third, smiling with good sportsmanship, a LEGO set.
Radio personalities Charlamagne Tha God and Elvis Duran emceed. Fans paid little mind to their announcements, however, ignoring calls to “make some noise!” in favor of conversation with each other. “I’m here to see a good match,” said Harsh Kumar, a New Jersey resident who, despite donning a jersey for Argentinian star Lionel Messi, said he supported both teams.
If nothing else, Global Citizen succeeded in turning thousands of strangers into friends; everywhere, fans of the same team cheered when meeting.
Security officers flanked the Lawn’s perimeter and circulated within, including NYPD officers from anti-terrorism teams, park and school safety units, and private security guards hired by Global Citizen. No one could provide the Rag an estimate for the total number of safety officers there.
A concern for West Side Rag readers was the maintenance of the Lawn post-watch party. The September 2023 Global Citizen Festival disaster destroyed a third of the Lawn that year and closed the area well into 2024 for lawn restoration. But unlike tropical storm Ophelia that struck then with heavy rains, the weather Sunday was clear, breezy and sunny.
“The Lawn will be cleaned up by section,” said Park Enforcement Officer Kerry-Ann Newman, pointing to trash pickers sweeping the area even while the match continued.
Representatives from the Central Park Conservancy declined to comment on how the grass would be affected by Sunday’s foot traffic.
This year marked the World Cup’s first-ever halftime show, which was in part produced by Global Citizen, in collaboration with FIFA. The splashy smorgasbord of artists, including Shakira, Justin Bieber, Madonna, BTS and Coldplay, along with children from Staten Island’s PS22 chorus, Jason Sudeikis dressed as Ted Lasso, and the Muppets, urged the crowd to choose love and donate to Global Citizen’s Believe in Love fund against poverty.
As the extra time clock ran out at around 6 p.m., fans squinted to watch the Cup’s last moments on the west-facing screens. Spanish music erupted from the enormous speakers as Spain won the game 1-0, as did chants of olé! olé!
And just as quickly as fans celebrated, they poured out of the east side of the park.
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I was there and it was totally disaster turn out.
The gates open at 12 noon but people didn’t start arriving until about 2:30 PM not more than 1500 people showed up as previously reported 50,000 people showed up that was very doubtful.
After the event ended, everybody cleared the great lawn, with discussed in their face.
Staff help with zero‼️👎
waiting time took almost 30min + at the bar and same with food/drink, there was no waiting time using the Porter toilets, that they have abundance of surrounding the great lawn. The entertainment was the worst.
I’ll wait until they’re out of here to assess the damages of the Great Lawn from the rain the night before.
“ discussed in their face” do you mean disgust? Totally different meaning.
The constant complaining here about a free watch party is unbelievable… I attended this event as well, idk about turnout numbers but it was well attended (as you can see in the photos) without being overly crowded and pretty well organized with plenty of viewing space. The worst part by far was the lackluster play from Argentina….
Were there activities for kids?
Only if you count watching the beautiful game!
….”plenty of viewing space”.
Exactly what Billy is talking about…. there was no 50,000 people there cause I was there too and I guess would be about the same number maybe 1500 at one time and halfway through people were leaving, photos don’t lie.
I thought the food concessions were ridiculous and Global Citizens were very disorganized.
Have some fun people, this was potentially a once in a lifetime to have the world cup final in the NYC metro area. Yeah I wouldn’t swear to the attendance, 50k does seems high but 1.5k seems way too low, there were like 4 different screens all seemed at capacity. Regardless it seemed like a successful event to me, definitely not a “total disaster”
I did bar hopping to watch game in hells kitchen, and every bar was packed. I imagine UWS was the same. That’s where the people were
Meanwhile, our champagne socialist mayor was attending the game at the MetLife.
As a true fan of the game, good for him! Even if he weren’t a fan, what message would be sent if the mayor didn’t attend that game? Some people will just find anything possible to complain about I swear
Meantime, our socialist champagne was attentive with open ears hearing the problems of the people at the porta-potty mansion.
Article 6C Section 11B states that no mayor can be both a human that enjoys things and a hamburger. So Mayor Hamburger’s gotta just be plain ole mayo hamburger.
Champagne socialism for the rich only, I say.
And so?
Sounds like exactly like the wonderful experience that I would have expected from a TV-watching party for 50,000 people, centered around “fans” who “support both teams” (?!), and organized by a “non-profit” who think America should be represented and entertained by Madonna lip-syncing on a buggy and The Muppets….
Best World Cup write up yet:
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/dude-lmao-this-is-a-gas-station-b5f?utm_source=substack&publication_id=61371&post_id=203267617&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=7b9j1&triedRedirect=true
Summary — Foreign visitors to the United States had the time of their lives exploring America, discovering many of the things we take for granted—like ranch dressing—and leaving with an even greater appreciation for our country. The World Cup was a huge success.
My take —UWS haters — Shut up!
Great recommendation. Thanks.
I don’t always agree with him politically but this was really well written and truly got to the heart of why this World Cup was so important for America right now.
I can’t believe the Mayor wasn’t there with a full PR crew taking credit for the event! … wait, was he?
Why would he want to take credit for Global Citizens? They were there long before he was ever thinking about “mayor”. Besides, The FIFA Organization invited him on behalf of the hospitality he gave to them while in New York, it was only the proper thing to do. And the Global Citizens event was a total disaster. What few People arrived at 2:30pm all left at 6 pm. They left! And no entertainment but a ripped up Great Lawn.
Aaaaaand the airports are thatta way!
While I appreciate the enthusiasm for the World Cup Final, closing ALL the Central Park crossings caused hours of extra time and money for many of us.
We also had no notice, even Uber drivers did not know beforehand.
Many of us had jobs and appointments which were delayed or cancelled and I think it was unfair and unnecessary. ONE transverse should have been kept open
wow.
Did not know the transverses were closed.
Crosstown buses too?
So much bitterness. We are lucky enough to share one of the greatest jewels of metropolitan life with folks engaging in a worldwide event while wars rage, fires burn and the strong crush the weak. Happy to help make some joy where we can.
I was there with my brother, and this article is very in keeping with our experience. We arrived at 69th and CPW by around 12:15, and snaked slowly to the Great Lawn where I sat while he attempted to get our free lunches. I strongly regret waiting in the hot sun (even with sunscreen, I was baked) as he took around an hour, only to come back with a wrap and a can of water. I waited around 20 minutes for the water refill stations which quickly ran out of cups (we had brought empty bottles, thankfully, but woe betide those who didn’t). A highlight was the flamenco dancer and guitarists — something artistic! — while the rest of pre-game music was loud and obnoxious but probably welcome by some (most?). The atmosphere was friendly, by and large, but there was no escaping how awful the game was, except we DID escape the sun at halftime and watched the rest at home, three blocks away.
As for turnout, I’d estimate more like 30,000 — not packed to the gills, but hardly lackluster. I was grateful that my screen section was seated, whereas the other sections were standing, which I recognize was the intention, but no way I was going to stand for 4 or 5 hours (including entry time, etc).
I won those tickets, but decided not to attend. I had a very bad experience at the Global Citizen concert a few years ago. The crowd got spooked and ran and I was trampled in that event. Terrifying, and clearly the result of how things were set up. So I sat this one out (tried to give the tickets back and couldn’t). At least it appears no one was in the situation I was in.
If Central Park is going to host the World Cup on the Great Lawn, then why not the final of the US Tennis Open, the world series of baseball, and any other final for New York team?
50,000 tickets were allegedly distributed, but is there any estimate of how many were used? Should be pretty easy to tell since everyone has to scan to get in.