Played before nearly 90,000 people in Dubai and watched worldwide by billions of soccer fans, the 2022 World Cup final offered everything a sports fan would want: high-stakes drama, back-and-forth action, and superb play from the best players in the world.
Coming to America
This global spectacle will come to North America this summer, with the United States, Canada, and Mexico sharing hosting duties, with games spread across 16 cities.
This will be the largest World Cup in history as the tournament expands to 48 teams from the traditional 32. This change means there will be not only more games but also more fans from various locations cheering for their home country’s team.
The tournament is projected to attract approximately 6 million visitors from around the globe, including traditional soccer powers like France and Brazil, as well as countries like Uzbekistan and Jordan, which will make their tournament debut. These four countries alone each feature different languages as their official tongue, something American cities must prepare for before the games kick off.
The language barrier will require a robust, multilingual communication strategy. This is not just to provide guests with a memorable World Cup experience, but to ensure public safety. In the event of an emergency, local governments need to communicate with all attendees, whether they speak English, Spanish, Arabic, or Uzbek.
Successful event management hinges on more than just logistics — it requires fostering genuine community engagement and proactively managing community sentiment. Here, we will look at the key communication and engagement challenges host cities face and outline strategic, outcomes-focused approaches to ensure a safe, inclusive, and memorable event for everyone.
Part 1: Mastering multilingual communications for public safety and experience
When the 2026 World Cup arrives, host cities will become temporary homes to millions of international visitors, many of whom might not speak English fluently. Without clear and accessible communications from the start, language gaps can lead to confusion, missteps, and even unsafe behavior. From navigating unfamiliar transit systems and stadium procedures to understanding local safety norms, visitors who cannot access or interpret these messages might become vulnerable and put added pressure on local emergency responders.
Cities can proactively educate residents and visitors in their preferred languages. By sharing safety information and guidance ahead of time, they can reduce friction, build confidence, and help ensure a smoother, safer experience for everyone. Preparing people before they arrive also reduces strain on emergency services and improves visitor satisfaction.
Cities should launch large-scale campaigns ahead of the event that reach fans in their own languages. For example, a city could send Spanish-language transit updates to travelers from Latin America, Portuguese alerts about game-day logistics to Brazilian fans, or Arabic stadium-entry instructions to Middle Eastern visitors. By tailoring messages to each audience, cities can prevent confusion and improve compliance.
Engagement Cloud can help achieve this by enabling segmentation by language or demographic, scheduling broadcasts through SMS, email, or mobile notifications to the right audience at the right time.
A simple and effective approach is to create “text-to-subscribe” campaigns. For instance, a visitor might see a sign at the airport that says, “Escribe XC26ESP al 12345 para recibir actualizaciones en español.” Once subscribed, the fan automatically receives safety alerts and helpful reminders in their language. This proactive communication improves safety and reduces staff workload.
Part 2: Building community trust through engagement and sentiment analysis
Large events can cause tension within local communities. Residents might worry about traffic, housing impacts, or inequitable access to benefits like emergency services. When residents feel unheard or dismissed, community frustration can overshadow the event’s positive outcomes.
Host cities can turn these challenges into opportunities by creating open, transparent communication channels. When governments actively listen and respond to residents, they build trust and show accountability. This engagement helps ensure the World Cup leaves behind a positive legacy rather than resentment.
Cities can use digital platforms such as online forums, public surveys, and comment portals to collect structured community feedback. This helps officials understand what matters most to residents instead of relying only on anecdotal conversations. Granicus tools can help governments organize this feedback and use it to make data-informed policy decisions.
Cities can monitor social media, survey data, and online feedback to understand how public sentiment changes. This helps officials identify concerns before they escalate. For example, if residents in one neighborhood start expressing frustration about traffic or parking, the city can respond quickly with targeted messages or adjustments to logistics.
It is not enough to collect feedback. Cities should also close the loop by sharing results with the public. For example, they can publish dashboards showing progress on community benefit agreements or local improvement projects. When residents see that their feedback leads to action, it builds long-term trust that extends beyond the tournament.
Part 3: Mitigating public health and safety risks with targeted communication
Major events amplify existing public health and safety risks. Without clear and accessible information, visitors might miss essential updates about heat safety, crowd management, sanitation, or medical services. This lack of communication can increase the number of preventable dangerous incidents and strain local resources.
Public health and safety officials can reduce risk and improve safety for everyone by delivering proactive, multilingual health messages before and during the tournament. Clear communication not only prevents emergencies but also enhances the overall visitor experience.
Cities can send targeted email and text campaigns in multiple languages that explain local health policies, heat safety practices, and where to find medical care. These messages can be tailored by language and geographic area, such as neighborhoods near stadiums or fan zones.
Timed reminders can help encourage safe behavior. For example, cities can send hydration reminders during hot afternoons or crowd safety updates when fans are leaving stadiums. These small nudges can prevent avoidable health incidents and promote a more organized and positive experience for all visitors.
The winning shot
As cities across North America prepare for the influx of international visitors, effective communication will be critical. Public safety, community engagement, and visitor satisfaction all depend on thoughtful, multilingual outreach that begins well before the first match.
Governments and transit districts can foster inclusion, transparency, and safety by using tools such as segmented campaigns, text-to-subscribe alerts, engagement dashboards, and real-time sentiment tracking. The 2026 World Cup offers not only a chance to host the world’s biggest sporting event but also to model what accessible and community-centered communication looks like in the modern era. That’s a goal everyone can agree on.
