Media Release

Fédération Internationale de Football Association

FIFA Strasse 20, P.O Box 8044 Zurich, Switzerland, +41 (0) 43 222 7777

Saturday 20 May 2023, 00:00

Unprecedented Host City brands launched to bring FIFA World Cup 26™ destinations to life

  • For the first time, FIFA reimagines World Cup™ Official Brand to give Host Cities their own unique tournament identity and ‘WE ARE’ moment

  • WE ARE 26 campaign features prominently, giving faces and places from each Host City a platform to tell their own FIFA World Cup™ stories

  • Celebrations across all 16 Host Cites in Canada, Mexico and USA engaged fans throughout 18 May

The diversity of the culture, people, and landscape of the FIFA World Cup™ Host Cities will, for the first time ever, be reflected in the tournament’s Official Brand. On Thursday (18 May 2023), FIFA, Host Countries Canada, Mexico, the USA, and the 16 Host Cities, launched exciting new individual FIFA World Cup™ city brands that will help build anticipation and welcome the world to each unique destination in 2026.

The important milestone was celebrated in every Host City, with a variety of fan-focused activities that helped launch the individual city brands. From big sand sculptures depicting the brand on Miami Beach, to viewing party fan fests and projections at Estadio Monterrey, to projections on iconic landmarks such as the CN Tower in Toronto, all 16 Host Cities found exciting ways to introduce their brands and engage and excite residents and fans across the continent as each city kick started its FIFA World Cup journey.

Each Host City Brand has been carefully derived from the FIFA World Cup 26™ Official Brand, unveiled at a launch event in Los Angeles, USA, on 17 May. But this time, the most widely recognised and prized sporting asset globally is married seamlessly with the colours and patterns that are renowned with each city. They all also have their own ‘WE ARE’ wordmark that can be adopted by residents and fans between now and final whistle.

Colin Smith, FIFA World Cup COO, said: “Today’s launch is the culmination of an exciting collaboration between FIFA and the 16 Host Cities. Months ago, we embarked on a creative journey together to ensure that the colours, cultures, people and places synonymous with each city were ingrained in every element of the city brand identities. We’re all thrilled to be able to reveal this unique artwork to the world along with our country and city partners and can’t wait to see them applied to channels and locations intended to excite and welcome fans for 26.”

WE ARE 26, the campaign that forms a central creative element of the Official Brand of the tournament, also sits at the forefront of each Host City Brand. The 16 Host Cities have been collecting portraits of famous faces, hyper-local communities and prominent destinations that make their city stand apart from others. WE ARE 26 features heavily in each brand and spotlights the people and places from all 16 Host Cities, allowing them to tell their own World Cup stories.

Fans attending or following the Host City activations on social media are encouraged to use the hashtags #FIFAWorldCup and #WeAre26 and share their joy and anticipation.

For more information on the FIFA World Cup 26™ Official Brand launch, visit FIFAWorldCup.com. Picture and videos can be found across the individual Host City social media handles. A full list of Host City social media handles can be found below on their individual Host City pages on FIFAWorldCup.com.