KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The 2026 FIFA World Cup starts in less than 500 days. That milestone until the opening game on June 11, 2026, in Mexico City came and went Monday.
Kansas City will host six games, including a quarterfinal, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, so the clock is ticking on ensuring the region is ready to host tens of thousands of visitors.
Creative City KC, which operates programs based on Kansas City’s status as a UNESCO Creative City, wants to be sure we’re prepared to welcome visitors from all over the globe.
“Kansas City usually punches way above its weight, because international guests come here and they have no expectations,” said Jacob Wagner, an associate professor of Urban Planning and Design at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. “They know they're not on either coast, and then when they get here, they have a great experience.”
Wagner co-founded Creative City KC with Executive Director Anita Dixon-Brown. They feel a responsibility to help ensure Kansas City puts its best foot forward for the World Cup.
“It's like when you have guests coming over,” Wagner said. “Let's get ready. Let's get ready in the best way to show the best of Kansas City, be the best that we can be. In terms of Kansas City's global recognition, there's nothing bigger than UNESCO and FIFA. Combine those two things together, it's huge.”
UNESCO — or the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which aims to promote peace through international cooperation and connection — only recognizes one U.S. city, Kansas City, as a Creative City of Music for its jazz and swing heritage.
Dixon-Brown wants World Cup visitors to appreciate Kansas City’s rich cultural heritage in addition to our robust sports culture.
“I want people to take away that we’re not only a city of sports, and wonderful sports and winning sports, but that the cultural experience was just as high as the sports experience that they expected to get, that they met people that will be lifelong friends that they would have never met had they not come here, that they'd eaten the food that was traditionally part of who we are, and they’ve taken part in the music in the place where it was created,” she said. “It’s going to be that kind of place for people.”
Creative City KC will open a Welcome and Interpretive Center on the southeast corner of Main Street and Armour Boulevard. They plan to host concerts, have translators and cultural ambassadors available, and will also offer a shuttle service to museums and cultural sites.
“A UNESCO Interpretive Center is a place where people can come to connect with resources we already have in the community,” Wagner said. “They can learn about the history of Kansas City and go to other places — go to museums, go out and hear music, go out to restaurants, all those kinds of things. But it's a different approach from your typical visitor center that might be more just about giving out information. Here, we will be interpreting the culture and sharing it so people understand about Kansas City jazz and why Kansas City is a UNESCO City of Music. Our approach will be to bring people in, work with them, interpret the culture, and help build their awareness of the unique things that Kansas City has to offer.”
Creative City KC also hopes to create space for food and craft vendors, directly engaging visitors with entrepreneurs in the Kansas City community.
“There is going to be a tremendous business opportunity coming up, and we wanted to be certain that small community businesses had access to that,” Dixon-Brown said. “This is going to be the biggest opportunity we can imagine. Musicians, particularly, are going to benefit greatly from having a forum, a place where they can showcase who they are and what they do.”
The Creative City KC Welcome Center plans to include hip-hop, Mariachi and jazz among entertainers to highlight the diversity of Kansas City. The ultimate goal is to connect visitors with what makes Kansas City special with the hope they’ll want to come back and explore more.
“We know that there's a lot of opportunity to grow the Kansas City economy for tourism, but also we want to make sure our local folks benefit,” Wagner said. “To do that, you’ve got to have a plan, you’ve got to have a strategy and it takes time to plan it out.”
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KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. Share your story idea with Tod.
