The Toronto FIFA Fan Fest at Fort York and The Bentway has opened its doors for the day following an inclement weather delay.
Organizers had initially said that the event wouldn’t be opening until 3 p.m.
Fan fest got underway on Sunday just before 5 p.m.
Hours earlier, organizers delayed its opening “out of an abundance of caution,” citing “severe weather.”
“The safety of attendees, volunteers and staff remain our top priority. We continue to monitor the weather and will provide updates as the situation changes,” they wrote in a post on X shortly after 3 p.m.
It was not known at that point when the fan festival would be opening for the day.
“We must prioritize safety,” FIFA World Cup 26 Toronto said in a previous post on X around 1:30 p.m.
In a media bulletin announcing the delayed opening of the event, Sharon Bollenbach, the executive director of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto Secretariat, underlined that the “safety of attendees, volunteers and staff remain our top priority.”
Programming changes due to delay
Today’s delay has resulted in a number of programing changes, organizers said, notably the delays of the French Montana (6:15 p.m.) and MurdaBeatz (9 p.m.) performances.
The show by Nagata Schachu has been postponed to another day.
Organizers are saying that they have also released a new batch of tickets to Fan Fest online.
Second time bad weather impacts event
This is the second time that severe weather has impacted Toronto’s outdoor fan event.
On Thursday, the first day of the World Cup, Toronto FIFA Fan Fest was cancelled in the middle of the Mexico vs. South Africa match, also “out of an abundance of caution” following inclement weather.
Thousands of people were forced to evacuate the site due to the threat of lightening after a cluster of thunderstorms moved into the region from the west.
