![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ede24898f16c00b75447d48c2176a22fca7837bb64bf054302129e802294bd29-300x200.jpg\")
Spanish fans react while watching Argentina play Spain during the World Cup final at FIFA Fan Fest, in Vancouver on Sunday, July 19, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Ethan CairnsVANCOUVER \u2014 The final World Cup whistle has been blown, crowning Spain champions and bringing an end to Canada\u2019s month-long tournament celebration.\nNorth Vancouverite Evan Sawrenko is among fans in Toronto and Vancouver already feeling nostalgic.
\nHe called Canada hosting the men\u2019s international tournament a \u201cdream come true,\u201d noting he attended the Egypt-New Zealand match at BC Place on June 21.
\n\u201cIt was a really cool experience,\u201d he said of the city\u2019s hosting run.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s been a super fun time and having like a whole summer of soccer games I can watch (and) watching a bunch of my favourite players.\u201d
\nWhile the live action ended in the city on July 7, the 22-year-old said his entire family wanted to soak up the last of the excitement by watching the final at Vancouver\u2019s Fan Festival on Sunday.
\nThe tournament kicked off on June 11 and the festival grounds quickly became one of the best places in Canada to watch the action outside a stadium. The grounds saw a total of more than 500,000 attendees over the five-week span, according to its website.
\nFan Sean Clerkin from Dublin, Ireland, was there on Sunday. He said he moved to Vancouver about two years ago and had \u201cnever seen Vancouver like this.\u201d
\n\u201cThe atmosphere is incredible, I\u2019m not the biggest football fan, but just walking down Granville Street has been absolutely amazing,\u201d he said ahead of the final kickoff.
\n\u201cI think it\u2019s been great for Vancouver. I think even people who are not into football, like myself, have really enjoyed it,\u201d he said.
\nThe championship match closes the first 48-team men\u2019s World Cup and Canada\u2019s role as a co-host of soccer\u2019s biggest tournament.
\nFIFA World Cup 2026 Vancouver host committee lead Jessie Adcock said it had been an \u201cemotional roller-coaster\u201d but she is proud of what the city accomplished.
\n\u201cTo be here on the last day of the final in and among a sea of smiling faces, I mean I think the biggest thing that comes to mind is just like pride in terms of what we\u2019ve been able to accomplish here as a group,\u201d she said from Vancouver\u2019s Fan Festival when asked about her tournament highlights.
\n\u201cI\u2019m just really, really grateful for the team and really, really happy with what we accomplished.\u201d
\nShe said the whole city embraced the tournament, citing various fan events and watch parties as well as the pedestrian zone on Granville Street in downtown Vancouver.
\n\u201cLooking around the city, you saw it, the joy on everyone\u2019s faces \u2014 I mean some tears if your team lost but ultimately this was an experiment in collective joy.\u201d
\nThat mix of emotions was palpable on Sunday inside the festival\u2019s amphitheatre when Spain ultimately defeated Argentina 1-0 after 30 minutes of extra time.
\nBut across the country at Toronto\u2019s fan festival, diehard soccer fans such as Rajdeep Rana and Navya Madan were focused on the positives, saying the event had brought the city to life.
\nThe two said they had made the drive to Toronto from Milton, Ont., to catch nearly every match watch party in the city.
\n\u201cI never expected Toronto to be the host city, and I think it\u2019s been an amazing experience the past month-and-a-half,\u201d Rana said as he sported a Barcelona jersey.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s been one of the greatest things \u2014 the greatest moments of my life so far.\u201d
\nFellow fan Mohit Barate, who was watching the final from STACKT Market Toronto, said it was going to \u201cbe a bit depressing\u201d to bid the tournament farewell.
\n\u201cI think the rest of the summer is mostly going to be just rewatching the matches that we have been following,\u201d he said.
\nToronto hosted six matches and Vancouver seven during the first men\u2019s World Cup staged across Canada, the United States and Mexico.
\nThe tournament brought supporters from around the world to both Canadian cities and turned public spaces into soccer gathering places.
\nGranville Island in Vancouver was among the locations that held a free watch party for each World Cup match, equipped with several screens and food trucks.
\nLisa Ono, public affairs and programming manager for CMEC Granville Island, said it was a new kind of event for the location, which is typically an arts and culture hub.
\n\u201cWe were at capacity for most of the games or over capacity for many of the games,\u201d she said, noting the space held 1,000 people.
\n\u201cThere was such community spirit and enthusiasm and such a friendly, high-energy, happy vibe at the watch party that it was beyond our expectations for sure.\u201d
\nShe said the watch party will be torn down within 48 hours, \u201clike it never happened.\u201d
\nBut the final cost of staging the tournament won\u2019t be known for months.
\nIn May, Canada\u2019s independent parliamentary budget officer estimated total hosting costs at about $1.066 billion, including $473 million in federal costs, projected costs of up to $729 million in British Columbia and $380 million in Toronto.
\nMost physical remnants of the tournament come down in the meantime. FIFA banners will be removed and event locations will be reverted to their original forms.
\nSmall homages to the tournament, including the pedestrianization of Granville Street and Vancouver\u2019s Science World soccer ball installation \u2014 which became an iconic symbol for the host city \u2014 will remain in Vancouver until Labour Day.
\nBut some, like Toronto fans Kia Rabbani and Chris Yien, are hopeful this isn\u2019t really the end.
\nWhen asked how the city can keep the energy alive after the games, Rabbani said \u201cit\u2019s impossible\u201d while Yien suggested another alternative.
\n\u201cHost another World Cup,\u201d he said, grinning. \u201cHost the next one.\u201d
\n\u2014 With files by Fatima Raza and Sandra Ezekwesili in Toronto
\nThis report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2026.<\/p>\n