If you’ve ever worked on a computer that runs Microsoft Windows or ordered from Amazon.com, maybe listened to the raw, driving sound of grunge (think Nirvana or Pearl Jam), or tasted Starbucks coffee, then you know something about Seattle.
This summer, the Pacific Northwest’s largest city will have yet another calling card when the FIFA World Cup 2026™ comes to town. This year’s tournament from June 11 to July 19 is the largest since its inception in 1930, featuring 48 national teams playing 104 matches in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Seattle will host six matches including knockout rounds and feature national teams from the United States, Australia, Belgium, Egypt and Qatar.
“Seattle has really emerged over the last 15 to 20 years as a growing sports town,” says Yohan Sengamalay, a lifelong Seattle soccer fan who works for Amazon. Noting excitement surrounding the city’s pro football and hockey teams, he adds, “soccer has deep roots here, too, with the Sounders rising to the top of Major League Soccer.”
With a population that’s surged 31% since 2000, Seattle is home to 737,000 people with millions more living in the surrounding areas. With that growth, the 18th largest U.S. city has expanded into a vibrant, culturally rich destination for visitors.
It’s also nowhere near as rainy as people think, at least not in June, when the World Cup kicks off. “Summer here is just perfect,” Sengamalay says, adding the season brings lots of sun and temperatures around 75 degrees Fahrenheit (23 degrees Celsius). “All that rain you hear about won’t really show up until October.”
Seattle has been a key port on the Pacific since the 1850s and takes its name from Chief Seattle, a 19th-century leader of the Duwamish and Suquamish peoples known for promoting peaceful relations among Native American tribes and European American settlers. Today you’ll find a bronze statue of Chief Seattle in Tilikum Place, a park near downtown.
The city sits on the Puget Sound, with the Pacific Ocean beyond, making Seattle an attractive place for shipping the abundant timber that blankets the Pacific Northwest.
It boasts an instantly recognizable skyline thanks to the Space Needle, a 605-foot tall (184 meter) tower with a UFO-like observation deck and rotating restaurant built in 1962. The Space Needle has appeared in movies like Sleepless in Seattle and the 1990s television show Frasier. A high-speed elevator rockets guests to the top in 40 seconds, offering outstanding views of Puget Sound and snow-covered Mount Rainier, a 14,411-foot (4,392 meter) volcano.
No trip to Seattle is complete without wandering the frenetic halls of historic Pike Place Market where farmers, fishmongers, artisans and other vendors sell food and wares. Chihuly Garden and Glass displays a mesmerizing collection of glass sculptures and softly lit rooms with towering chandeliers, delicate bowls and flowing forms.
Sengamalay, who hopes to get tickets to watch the U.S. national team’s match in Seattle, thinks visitors will find the city an exceptional destination with various neighborhoods, each boasting its own individual spirit. “Seattle to me still feels uniquely Northwest,” he says. “It’s also a city that’s become far more global with a lot to explore beyond the landmarks people already know.”
[Editor’s note: Teams and locations for some matches are not set at the time of publication.]
Tim Neville is a freelance writer.
