6/11, Thursday, first game of 2026 World Cup for soccer.
Hundreds, maybe a thousand people gathered at Seattle Center to watch the live broadcast of the very first game from Mexico City, Mexico vs South Africa.
Many dressed in Mexican flag color (red + green), some like these are fully decked out in La Catrina style. So colorful and festival.
In the center of the right photo is the Mexican TV broadcaster and the Mexican Consule in Seattle.
Only a few minutes into the game, Mexico scored the first goal (out of 2).
The whole place erupted with cheer.
There were 6 games played in Seattle.
6/25, Thursday, USA vs Belgium is one of the 6, the only one US played here.
South Lake Union park hosted a watch party outdoor, with many games for all ages. I watched the 2nd half of this game. Quite fun.
Many other places all over Seattle hosted watch parties.
Example is Westlake Park here. I didn't watch this game.
Most of the games I watched were in Seattle Center's Armory, with facilities, long tables and many chairs. Indoor, with AC.
7/19, Sunday, noon. We came to watch the final Spain vs Argentina. However, it was so overcrowded, couldn't find a place to sit, or even stand comfortably. All the body was making AC unnoticeable. Stuffy and hot. We went to KEXP, also standing room only. At least a smaller venue, not as hot. At the intermission, managed to score 2 chairs to sit down. Was fun. Spain won. Also Spain had so many goal attempts, Argentina almost nill.
Before FIFA, Seattle has invested millions to beautify the city. Westlake Park was re-vamped, more policy, more street cleaners. Lightrail runs double the frequency during this month, albeit still never was on time. Too bad, these improvements don't stick around.
