Atlanta says goodbye to the FIFA World Cup after epic semifinal

Let's take a live look at Atlanta Stadium, where it has been action packed this World Cup. But here's the thing, as of today, this reverts back to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, because the FIFA World Cup matches in Atlanta are done. After eight matches over the last month, the men's health shaped how Atlanta was off to the world. We saw great matches inside, including yesterday's semifinal. What an exciting one, between England and Argentina. Argentina coming out on top, 2-1 in all of that. So as expected, it really launched an explosion of energy and joy across Argentina's capital. Soccer fans there celebrated. They really, really celebrated this. Thousands took to the streets of Buenos Aires yesterday just to celebrate that semifinal victory over England. Many cheering, chanting, waving the Argentinian flag. Others painted themselves blue and white. You're seeing some of that. The last time Argentina won the World Cup was the last one. So back in 2022, they face off against Spain. This Sunday, that final at New York, New Jersey Stadium will certainly be one to watch. So looking forward to that. But, you know, we have to look back on what has happened here in Atlanta. Just like that, though, our time on soccer's biggest stage has come to an end. But it really has been fantastic. Eight matches, hundreds of thousands of fans in Atlanta. A lot of good times, I think, we saw come from this World Cup here in Atlanta. And our Kim Loeffler has been covering a lot of this since the start. She's joining us outside Atlanta Stadium. We'll still call it that for now, Kim, with what folks might have missed. And I don't know about you, Kim, but it almost feels bittersweet. This has been a really great experience for a lot of people, Kim. Yeah, you know, and covering this, I had a lot more fun than I expected to. I'm not really a big soccer fan, but just feeling the energy of everyone here in the city has been so much fun. And it certainly was a great run for the city of Atlanta. And even with the fans gone, all of that energy, you can still feel it. And, of course, the memories will go far beyond the pitch. So, with the final whistle yesterday, that may have ended Atlanta's World Cup run here. But the celebration kept going. Argentina fans filled Atlanta Stadium with chants, songs, and cheers as Lionel Messi joined in following their semifinal victory. But the story here in Atlanta was never just about soccer. Fans from around the world packed the FIFA Fan Festival, explored the city, and embraced Southern hospitality. Now, take a listen to some visitors that we spoke to about their experience here in the city. Beautiful, 24 hours. I mean, the people were so nice. That Southern hospitality, for sure. And it's so green. I love the trees in the downtown. I went to the aquarium, which was great. I went to Coca-Cola, and now I'm going to the Martin Luther King III Museum before the game. And we did just get some updated numbers from FIFA officials about the exact turnout here in the city. And they say over 544,000 fans came to matches here at Atlanta Stadium. The Fan Festival welcomed more than a half a million visitors with more than 27,000 guests each day. And it was one of the most popular fan festivals across the country. Now, in terms of MARTA, we know a lot of fans were taking MARTA to get downtown. They transported more than 2.5 million riders over the course of the matches here. That's close to a 200% increase from regular ridership. So a lot of people certainly taking MARTA. And over 2,000, or more than, rather, 2,000 volunteers took part in coming out to help out during the duration of the tournament here. And we know there also were more than 150 community events throughout the city. So quite the turnout from both locals here in Atlanta and also fans coming into town to cheer on their teams. And it's certainly going to be an event we will not soon forget. Elise. Yeah, one we can be proud of here in Atlanta, just the way that it was done. So, Kim, thank you so much. I'm glad you enjoyed this as much as we all did, too. All right, Kim, thank you. And what you're looking at right now next to us is cleanup efforts underway right now at Atlanta Fan Fest. So, I mean, this is, you heard Kim say, it's been such an incredible turnout out there. I think she said it's been half a million visitors. There were several days that they're at Centennial Olympic Park. It was sold out, folks wanting to come in and get to enjoy it. And they couldn't because there was such a turnout. We saw folks standing in long lines to get those coveted bracelets that you could personalize out there. Incredible musical guests, so many of them from right here in the area. Some big names that were out there as well. So, it's been quite a ride. It's been several weeks of good times out there at Centennial Olympic Park. But cleanup currently underway to get things back to normal as Atlanta has done during her part in showing off for the FIFA World Cup here. Eight matches. So, it's certainly been a good time.