Central Park will play host to a massive ticketed watch party for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final on July 19.
Up to 50,000 people will be able to attend the free gathering on the park’s famed Great Lawn, with 10,000 of those tickets reserved for local youth soccer groups and nonprofits, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Monday.
New York state will put up $6 million for the event, with New York City chipping in $3.5 million. It will feature three large LED screens, DJs and food offerings, according to Hochul. Radio hosts Charlamagne Tha God and Elvis Duran will serve as emcees.
“It’ll be the city’s front row seat to the beautiful game,” Hochul said at a news conference in the park.
The free tickets will be distributed via a lottery. People can register beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday on the website of Global Citizen, an advocacy organization that is helping produce the event. Attendees will have to read an article about a FIFA-Global Citizen charitable fund to be eligible for a ticket, said Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans.
The World Cup final will be held at 3 p.m. on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The stadium is being rebranded as NYNJ Stadium during the tournament, which is being held at stadiums across North America beginning Thursday.
Doors for the Great Lawn watch party will open at noon.
