波士頓迎足球世界盃 籌備盛大粉絲狂歡節

I'm so excited to be here today. I'm Martha Shatter, and I am the CEO of Meet Boston, and I'm so proud to work with all of these partners that you'll hear from today on bringing these World Cup matches to Boston this year. At Meet Boston, we've been working on this event for many years now. It was a collective and collaborative effort to pull together and then, of course, win our business bid to host these matches. Since that time, I serve on the board of the Boston 2026 Board Committee, working alongside Mike Money and his fabulous team to develop branding elements, compelling destinations, messaging, and, of course, a structure around hosting these games. These matches are projected to generate over $1 billion in local economic impact, including $100 million in tax revenue and over 9,000 jobs. And at a time when our international visitors are more essential than ever, we stand together steadfast in promoting Boston and Massachusetts as welcoming, safe, inclusive, and, of course, open for all. So with that, it is my privilege to introduce a great partner of mine in all things Boston and in all things tourism, Mayor Michelle Wood. Thank you so much, Marcia, for all that you do. I just hung on to my name. So I'm so excited to be here alongside the incredible lineup and team that you see up here, as well as many, many folks on the team who are in the audience and getting around the edu. So what we're going to talk about in just a little bit is going to involve all of us, and you guys will hear soon what we do on a daily basis. So thank you, as mentioned, to our Assistant Counselor, Jeff Green, for his help at work. Thank you to District Counselor, Sarah Lilley-Vilcasa. Thank you, Sharon Durkin, Dr. John Fitzgerald. Okay, from the City Council, thank you to all of our partners who have been working so hard to make sure that everyone can be a part of the celebration in our city. And then in terms of our city team, Chief Ivers has been leading the way in preparing so that we can be ready. I want to shout out our Deputy Chief of Staff, Phyllis Bates-Hoover, who has been coordinating across many of our departments. We have our Director of Tourism, Sports, and Entertainment, Dr. Ashley Price. And we have our Director of Global Affairs, Paul Mann. Anyway, thank you. Amy Gandel, the Green, has been doing so many, many planning initiatives that we're working on. And on and off, everyone in this room is officially thanked. So, while I know we all have super eyes, we get to be inside and warm. And we're also looking forward to a summer that will be filled with excitement, filled with a different kind of football. But before we get to that, congratulations on a fantastic season. And congratulations to the Seahawks, who play in Seattle, and we are teaming both in on their victory. A deal's a deal. And so, as part of our company's wager, Boston 26 and their Seattle country have gotten in on the plan with the mayors. So, after Sunday, Boston 26 and the Seahawks are going to be sending kids from Seattle to one of their World Cup matches out there. So, I want to thank again both the host committees for being such great partners. And giving them the chance to watch the game. Speaking of watching kids play, those kids won't be the only ones getting an opportunity this summer. The world's greatest athletes are headed to Boston. And we're going to make sure all of our residents and visitors have the chance to experience the magic of the World Cup right here in our city. Today, the city, our partners at the state, and Boston 26 are thrilled to announce that our official FIFA World Cup Fan Festival will be held right in the heart of our city. Right outside the most beautiful building in the city. On City Hall Plaza. With the partnership of the city council over many years, and Aidan, our facility team, and Chief Irish, we renovated City Hall Plaza just to bring it back precisely so that it could be the gathering space that has been needed. We look forward to hosting many, many large community events, but this one is truly special. Thousands of residents and visitors will gather to cheer on their teams downtown. Bringing energy, economic investment, and a global spotlight to our businesses and communities. Hosting the World Cup is a fantastic opportunity to show off our entire city, and the best of Boston, to the people from all around the world who will be showing up, and to highlight the small businesses and our local communities and neighbors who make up our city every day. So while the Fan Festival will be downtown, we'll be activating all of Boston's buildings. We'll host watch parties at Fan Fest across the neighborhoods, and invite local businesses to join in the celebration. We're also planning to elevate the city's annual Block Party Grant to really reflect the scale and excitement of our country's 250th anniversary of the World Cup. We're developing a few Block Party Gifts to supplement the grant, and to help all of our communities join in the fun in the exact way that will reflect our culture, every generation, and every part of the city. More details will be shared soon, but we're excited to create opportunities for residents to tap into the joy of the World Cup, right in their own neighborhood, and wish to come to City Hall Plaza. This is the chance of a lifetime to show the world that Boston is a home for everyone, that we are a welcoming city, that we are excited day in and day out to open our doors to visitors from across the globe, and to reflect all of the cultures that make up our incredible community. So thank you again to the City and our regional and state partners who have been working so hard over the last year and a half to get all the details right so that we can get that letter of intent signed and move forward with what will be an incredible experience. I especially want to thank our public safety and transportation team. A lot of this has been logistic, and we're planning for a huge, large-scale event of incredible complexity, so we appreciate all that's gone into it and all that's still to come on that end. It is because of you that we're ready to make the World Cup a safe and enjoyable experience for all residents to do. So, thank you so much again to the Governor, all my colleagues in government, and Boston Planning and Business for making this happen. We are counting down the days, and there's a lot to do before then, but please know that we are both keeping our heads up and running in addition to this celebration at the Plaza. We are looking to reach out to each other at the neighborhood, get in on the fun, support business owners and community leaders, and anyone who has an idea, if you're interested in reaching in, please reach out, and we'll make sure that we meet with the Governor in Boston for a test. Okay, we're going to make sure we get connected for our Spanish-speaking residents as well, but also wanted to thank and recognize the people who have helped us pass the rail, Buenas tardes. Hoy, la ciudad y sus socios de la Ciudad de Boston, de Houston, están encantados de anunciar que nuestra festividad oficial de la cumbre mundial, Calefacción de la Ciudad, será en la Plaza de la Feria. Pero vamos a la Plaza de la Feria precisamente para que pudiera tener grandes eventos contemporáneos como este. Miles de residentes y visitantes se reunirán para animar a sus equipos en el centro de la ciudad, aportando energía, actividad alimentaria, actividad económica, y un foco global a los negocios y comunidades. Organizar un Foco Mundial es una oportunidad fantástica para mostrar lo mejor de nuestra ciudad. Y mientras el Fantástico será en la Plaza, estaremos activando todo Boston para los juegos. Organizaremos fiestas de observación en el Fantástico y en los vecindarios, e invitaremos a empresas locales a unirse a nosotros en la relación. También estamos planeando elevar las subvenciones de fiestas del bloque para reflejar la escala de la emoción del aniversario 250 en nuestro país y la Cumbre Mundial. Pronto se anunciarán más detalles, pero estamos oficiales informados de que hay oportunidades para que los residentes aprovechen la alegría de la Cumbre Mundial directamente en sus vecindarios. Esta es una gran oportunidad para mostrarle al mundo que Boston realmente es un lugar para todos. Estamos orgullosos de ser una ciudad acogedora y estamos emocionados de abrir muchas puertas a visitantes de todo el mundo. Thank you so much, and now I get to pass it on to Debra Moore. Thank you so much, Marilu, and huge thanks to you and to your team, all the folks across the city who worked so hard getting me out, and who I know, particularly over the next 120 days, are going to be working so hard with so many to bring this wonderful opportunity to life. Also, the mayor is generous in sending kids to games. I'm just, congratulations, it's a great city in Washington. We're going to be sending out a bunch of real New England chatter and also a lot of Dunkin's. I think that that is my obligation at this point. Thank you to Lieutenant Governor Driscoll and members of our team. Thank you to Chair Mike Lewis and to Martha Sheridan and all the folks in Boston. And also thank you to Boston 26, my friend and the entire team who have joined us today and have been working hard in all of this. And we are in particular, thank you for all that you do. I can't wait. I can't wait. To members of the City Council, good afternoon. Look, this is super, super exciting. We're coming off a big sports weekend. There's no greater sports town in all of America than Boston. I'm looking at a two pitchers and catchers report in two weeks, right? And then just a short while after that, we're going to have the world descend on Massachusetts and here in Boston to celebrate what is an incredible spectacle, an incredible event, and that is the World Cup. I love the World Cup. I love the World Cup as a former soccer player. I love the World Cup because of what it represents. It's people from all over the world and people from around the world not only coming to celebrate but playing and competing and in what is truly a universally loved and appreciated sport and certainly one that's appreciated here in Massachusetts. We'll see fans who will be cheering on in a multitude of languages surrounding themselves with family and friends, gathering in arenas and restaurants and spaces and everywhere across the state, including here in our great City Hall Plaza to watch their home countries play. This is a historic gathering place right here in the heart of our great capital city, the Hub, a place where for a long time people have expressed collective passions, where we've celebrated strength and diversity, where we've certainly celebrated a number of sports. I know that at City Hall Plaza the folks are going to find the terrific live entertainment, local food, interactive experiences for everyone young and old to enjoy. People will be outside, people will watch matches and cheering on their favorite teams together. We also know that this fan fest is going to give people an opportunity to come from all over Massachusetts, which is great, to enjoy this experience and to gather safely together. In addition to all the wonderful things that World Cup brings to us as fans, it also gives us an incredible economic opportunity both for the city as well as for the state. We'll be hosting seven matches in Coxborough, and as a result we're expecting the tournament to bring in over two million international visitors to Massachusetts alone. That's a lot of people. Over a billion dollars, as Martha mentioned, of economic impact. It's a huge, huge opportunity for all of us. As a result, you can imagine we've been coordinating extensively, making sure that transportation is set, security is set, coordinating with all of our international partners and all of our local partners here as well. That's where we're going to have John Barrett, who's here with us today. All sorts of coordination is taking place at the local and state level. The MBTA is working in close partnership with Boston 26 and with our partners in Boston and in Coxborough. So that we are delivering a coordinated, safe, and accessible transportation plan for these matches. So regardless of whether you're fortunate enough to be going to a game in Coxborough or enjoying events here in City Hall Plaza, we want to make sure that everybody has an awesome opportunity to enjoy and experience what truly is a world-class event that doesn't just come around all that often. So I want to thank City, I want to thank Boston 26 for your partnership in ensuring that we have these super fun, super exciting fan fests. And now I'd like to turn it over to Chairman Aaron Michael, once he will be able to enjoy this, just walking up the hill. I think that would be great. Thank you, Governor. And I know the Speaker and the Senate President made some bets with their colleagues out in Washington. I was smart enough, maybe lucky enough, not to make any bets. So I don't owe them anything after Sunday. So I'm thankful for that. But I'm thankful to be here today. I'm thankful for the work that's being put in to get us to what is going to be one of the memorable and historic events that we have here in Massachusetts and particularly here in Boston. And, you know, it's important that we get it right. We're putting on a show for the world to see. Everyone's coming from all over, from different countries, from all over different states in the United States. But certainly we want to make sure that we put our best foot forward and make sure that we are putting on a show for everyone to see us as the city, the state that we are. And to do that, you know, we have to create some centralization. And that is why it's very important for us to have a fan fest. But to be honest, you know, tickets are not cheap to go to these games. And not everyone is going to be able to get a chance to go to Foxborough to see either their country play or just to participate in all the cities. And it is important for us to make sure that we are creating a dynamic for folks to be able to get in to see something, enjoy the experience, be a part of it. It is going to be centralized right here at City Hall Plaza. I know we're talking about doing some other things across the city and across the state. But to have something centralized like this is going to be very valuable, not just for the people that are coming in, but for Massachusetts residents and for residents of City Hall Plaza. So I want to thank the governor for her leadership. I know that a portion of the money that we passed in the most recent supplemental budget is going to go directly toward this fan fest. And so we are very thankful for your leadership, Governor, and for the leadership of the legislature, all my colleagues, you know, Chris is here, but I know there are many others that were participating in making sure that we, again, put some more money into this. And, you know, obviously this isn't going to cost money, so we have a lot of work to do. We still have a lot of stuff that we have to iron out. But we have so much time available to us at this point. But we're going to get there. We're going to make it work. And I know it's going to be a team effort here. And speaking of that team, I'm very grateful and thankful for the mayor and her team and her leadership team that is hosting and is going to be a big part of keeping this working and accessible to all. I'm very looking forward to seeing all different types of games, all different types of countries that are coming here. But obviously, you know, the United States games are on the West Coast. So we have some maybe some great games that are going to happen here over at the folks at the Plaza. So by all means, make sure you take advantage of all the restaurants that are right down the street. It's my pleasure. Before you go and watch the United States play their games. So thank you all for your effort. And, of course, that partnership is not anything without Boston FIFA here at 2026. And I want to invite Mike Wood to say a few words. Thank you so much. Thank you, Governor, Lieutenant Governor. It was 2018 when the U.S., Mexico, and Canada did it together with North America that won the right to host the World Cup. The 22 main Boston groups selected across a number of cities, so 11 cities in the U.S. Boston won. This is an incredible position to be in as a state, as a city. And, you know, think about this then. At the quarterfinal or every event, a large set of matches will match the typical in viewership. And at the quarterfinal, we'll have over a billion viewers. A billion viewers watching Boston, watching Massachusetts. That's a moment in time that we may never have again. If you watch the Super Bowl, you saw the beauty shots of San Francisco, the gorgeous shots that we will see in Boston. And you'll see this energy in the center of the city sort of ignite. It's sort of this wonderful quilt of community, you know, the Tartan Army, you know, our French friends, the Danish population. You'll see all of this come together in a sort of fabric of what's great about Massachusetts, what's great about Boston. It comes together. And so this transfest really becomes that energy. I'm so grateful for the support of the state, of the city, of the Boston legislature. That's not a moment in time. But for us, this is going to be one very special moment. And for our local residents to come and celebrate together, it will be something very special. So I want to thank everyone for the energy that we put in today, for the energy that we're going to spend. Because, you know, 10% of the time, it's 90% of the work done, and that's what we have to do right now. It's not the tough things that always have to be done. I've done a lot of big games, so I've seen this before. This is exactly where we should be. And I'm very grateful. Thank you. Thank you for being here. By the way, I had the most pricey bet with my family in Seattle. I'm shipping lobster rolls to Seattle tomorrow. Anyway. So we are now available for a few questions, if there are any. Do you have a date? Like, how long will the franchise be exactly? Sure. We just appointed a student lead in our event management company that happened last week. It's an operations team that works very closely with the Boston Marathon and BAA. We will be spending the next month working with them to make sure that we deliver the best experience possible. You know, we have a gap between the round of 32 events and the quarterfinals, which is 60% of the match. We have to make sure that we can work on that operationally. So, you know, we imagine something like 16 days. But to be honest, we just want to make sure that we are both fiscally responsible and that we make the right balance between the experience and the population that comes here. Also, you know, what happens really is, you know, the fourth stage in that round of 32, we have a lot of international visitors in. And then when we get to the quarterfinals, it sort of spreads out. So we want to balance that. So local businesses also have that experience and they can be absorbed in the hospitality and construction business. But it's a long-winded way of saying, we're hoping for somewhere around 16 days. We won't be announcing that in March. I mean, there's been like a pitch out there where people can kick the ball in that. Yeah, well, how about, you know, we anticipate having a, you know, sort of have a ball area for the playing rounds and things like that. You know, we're working through the details of that. No, we're sort of, we're working through the, you know, the different funding mechanisms. Over this period of time, we'll be weighing, you know, how that looks. But it will be a combination of public and private funding. You know, we anticipate we'll be having to pitch for it in March. Yeah, we're working through that right now. I think that's an answer for all of it. You know, we were on the phone last night with Paige and Bill, Paige, the time manager, and Bill Wiley, the select board chair. So we were on the phone with them last night. We've been, you know, we've had conversations with, you know, FIFA and the stadium on this. I think we'll come to a very different conclusion this morning. I was meeting with the public safety officials. So the answer is I think we'll have all of that done. It takes a few days. It's costly. It's expensive. It's costly. It's probably difficult. The stadium has been doing it for many years. It's nice to meet some officials. It's nice to meet some people. It's not such a complicated issue. The answer is I'm comfortable that we'll be there. We have a meeting in another week with them. We have another month before then. That's our final decision. Michael, how guaranteed are you of all the state funds that you're seeking? Will you be able to execute all the other things? Okay, that's a good question, Michael. I think that's what this month will look like. It's not only funding. It's timing to get all of the things we've done. So, you know, with the team that's been, you know, great partners, including Interstate and Keaton, who are, you know, great at developing. So it will take us a month to be able to do that. But I'm happy that they're understanding the conversation. That's what's happening. In your case, you're saying that you're not involved. No, we're really trying to make it free at this point. We're not talking about funding, but at this point, yes, our goal is to make this conversation free. Okay. Can you tell us how you're going to do this? Are you going to be able to do it now? Yeah, I'm going to be able to do it now. As a security, you know, certainly we have, you know, security workers, we're going to be working with them. We've been in contact with them for about two years now. Again, I would say that we're going to do it now. Do you have any concerns about travel bans? We don't anticipate that. We don't have concerns at this date. We're working right with FIFA. FIFA is spending quite a bit of time in the U.S. government around the structure of travel and immigration. At this point, we're not sure that we should do that. Do you want to say a few words to her beforehand? Thanks. Yeah, I'd like to take this opportunity to really uplift them and thank the team who have been working so hard for over, you know, the last 26 months planning for the thing that we know of. Now that we know that that's been certified, that that will be something that we'll be trying to do next, but the Boston Police Department, Transportation Department, Special Events Team, Property Management, there are so many people who have been working really hard to make sure that this is an experience that all the visitors are going to be excited about when they come back to Boston, but the team has also been very intentional in thinking how and all the ways that we can engage our neighborhoods so that everyone is a part of it, whether you come downtown to Banff, or you're home in East Boston, and do it the way that we want to make sure everyone celebrates the World Cup. So we welcome any additional ideas that folks have. I also want to thank the government and the mayor for their leadership on this and pushing their heart to make sure this happens, and so we're very excited to be here today to make this happen.