Where To Watch 2026 World Cup In Livermore

LIVERMORE, CA — The world’s biggest soccer tournament, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, is coming to the Bay Area tomorrow.

Fans from around the globe will come to the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium to watch the US play Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is the last game of the 2026 World Cup that will be played in the Bay Area.

The 2026 World Cup runs 39 days, starting Thursday, June 11, and ending July 19. For the first time, the tournament will feature 48 teams, making it the largest World Cup ever.

Eleven U.S. cities — Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Rutherford, New Jersey — are hosting matches.

Fan events Wednesday include:

• Watch Party at HWY17 Studios, Santa Cruz
• World Cup Takeover at The Endzone, Hilton Santa Clara
• World Cup Watch Party from Oakland Sports Group, Raimondi Park, Oakland
• Global Soccer Watch Part at Alum Rock Library, San Jose
• San Mateo Soccer Social Pop-Up, B Street Pedestrian Mall, San Mateo

Given the massive popularity of the World Cup, sports bars across the country are expected to draw large and energetic crowds. Some to consider in and around Livermore include:

• The Hangar SFO, Livermore
• First Street Alehouse, Livermore
• Buzzin On Hops Bottle Shop & Taproom, Livermore
• The Neighborhood Sports Bar and Kitchen, Pleasanton
• The Draft Sports Pub, Pleasanton
• Alameda County Fair, Pleasanton

The World Cup will feature an unprecedented trio of star-studded opening ceremonies in the host nations, the United States, Canada and Mexico, created by the Italian producer behind the opening ceremony for this year's Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

The ceremonies' unifying theme will be “the celebration of sports, the passion for soccer, symbolized by the cup itself,” Marco Balich, creative director of Milan-based Balich Wonder Studio, told The Associated Press. “The idea is to narrate with three points of view and languages” using design aesthetics representative of each culture.

In Canada, a mosaic will represent its multicultural identity. Mexico's motif will be the traditional paper cutouts called papel picado, while the United States will have “a super shiny, glowing cup,” said Balich, who also produced the opening ceremony for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Each ceremony will feature top artistic performances that tap into the national identity, but Balich said spectators shouldn’t expect a Super Bowl-style halftime extravaganza. Instead, the ceremonies will combine welcoming speeches, a parade of flags, the presentation of the match ball and about 30 minutes of musical entertainment.

The U.S. opening ceremony takes place Friday at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Beginning at 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time/7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, 90 minutes before the USA vs. Paraguay opening match. Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, LISA, Rema and Tyla headline an all-star lineup.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.