Council to hear updated information on FIFA World Cup watch parties

Prince George City Council will receive an update on potentially hosting FIFA World Cup watch parties.

During Council’s meeting on September 17th, Council discussed a notice of motion put forward by Councillors Ron Polillo and Cori Ramsay.

The motion directed staff to work with local organizations to plan and execute watch parties to be held at Canada Games Plaza.

At that meeting, Council decided to wait until after the Union of BC Municipalities Convention, where a workshop was held on hosting the watch parties.

At tomorrow’s (Monday) meeting, City Council will hear a staff report with updated information from the UBCM convention.

According to the report, there are different requirements for different types of parties:

Non-commercial: No FIFA licence or fee required:

• Regular business operations such as bars showing matches as part of normal service
• Small community events under 1,000 people
• No ticket sales or sponsors

Special Non-Commercial: FIFA licence and fee required:

• Large free events for more than 1,000 people
• Hosted by public institutions (e.g. municipalities)
• No ticket sales or sponsors

Commercial: FIFA license (and fee) required, as well as FIFA approval for sponsorships

• Any event with ticket sales, sponsorship or commercial promotion
• Includes paid entry, branded activations, or any activity designed for commercial gain.

According to the report, the province is exploring opportunities for community participation, one of which is an Expression of Interest for Public Live Match Viewing.

This EOI is open to municipalities, and is not a commitment to participate.

“While completing this EOI is not a guarantee of access to funding, it will signal our intent to apply for any funding that might be available to support FWC26 live match viewing,” the report states.

While the staff report does not come with a recommendation, staff are prepared to submit an expression of interest to the province before the due-date of October 15th.