What to know
- City staff proposed raising the Fan Festival budget from $16 million to $25 million, suggesting $10 general admission and up to $300 VIP tickets to cover costs.
- Councillors Brad Bradford and Josh Matlow pushed back, arguing fees would undermine accessibility and break earlier promises of free entry.
- Olivia Chow reversed course, directing staff to explore free general admission and seek private funding, with a revised plan expected at the next council meeting.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow is asking staff to dial back on plans to charge fans to attend World Cup Fan Festivals following backlash.
During a city executive committee meeting on Wednesday, city staff presented a report with recommendations for the city to increase its Fan Festival budget to allow for more fan enjoyment and plans for security, fire, and medical services. According to the report, the move would bring the total costs of the Fan Festivals from $16 million to $25 million.
To deal with the added costs, staff recommended the city charge attendees a $10 general admission fee and $100–$300 for VIP tickets. The costs would contradict earlier city media releases, which advertised the festivals as free.
The proposal led to backlash, including from City Councillor Brad Bradford, who said charging residents for tickets could lead to many of them choosing to stay out of the event.
“Most people are not going to be in a box with mayor Chow at the games, most families are not gonna get access to the stadium to actually be able to see the soccer in person. So, the Fan Fest was really the opportunity to make it more accessible for Torontonians,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
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Councillor Josh Matlow also expressed his disagreement with the proposal, saying the city should keep its original promise of making the festivals free.
“I strongly disagree with charging the general public fees to access one of the few destinations during Toronto’s games that was promised to them,” he wrote on X.
Earlier on Wednesday, Chow had originally defended the proposal to reporters, saying the move would allow for more safety plans ahead of the events and help with crowd control. In addition, the mayor had pointed out that there are other World Cup screenings and events in town, which she says will be free of charge.
“The City of Toronto gave out grants for local restaurants associations and businesses improvement areas to animate Scarborough North York, Etobicoke. So, you’re going to be able to watch the games all over the city, not just in pubs, not just in places where you actually have to pay. There will be a lot of free activities all over the city,” she told reporters.
However, following backlash on the proposal, Chow moved a motion during the meeting on Wednesday requesting that the city:
- Create a free general admission ticket category;
- Direct the Toronto Secretariat to seek private sponsorship to pay for the additional planning costs.
As part of her motion, city staff will present a modified proposal at the next city council meeting.
The mayor shared her new proposal on social media, saying that she is also looking to expand the city’s Community Access program for FanFest, which would originally offer 11,000 free tickets to the event.
