The FIFA Fan Festival opens its gates at Centennial Olympic Park at noon today, and downtown is about to feel it. Before you head toward the park — on foot, by train, or (bravely) by car — here is the practical rundown from the official Atlanta FWC26 matchday guide on getting in, getting around, and what to leave at home.
Day One hours
Gates open at 12:00 PM today, with programming running until 6:00 PM, per the official Fan Festival page. Hours shift on later days — roughly 10:00 AM to midnight depending on the match calendar — so check before each visit. General admission is free, but advance registration is required. For the lineup, the hosts, and the food street, see our complete Fan Festival guide.
Lane closures around the park
- Marietta Street: the lane closest to Centennial Olympic Park, between Centennial Olympic Park Drive and Park Avenue, is closed during festival operating hours. All lanes reopen when the festival is dark, barring emergencies.
- Centennial Olympic Park Drive: pedestrian barriers take up two lanes; two lanes remain open to traffic.
The blocks hugging the park will be slow all month. If you are driving downtown for anything else, route around the Marietta Street corridor during festival hours.
Take the train. Really.
The official guidance is MARTA-first, and the math backs it up. Trains run every five minutes from 4:45 AM to 1:30 AM, a one-way fare is $2.50, and 23 stations across the metro offer free parking — drive to your nearest station, park for nothing, and ride in. Downtown parking, by contrast, is extremely limited, and official event lots must be reserved and prepaid in advance through ParkMobile. No reservation, no spot. Rideshare is the recommended fallback.
What gets you through the gate
- Clear bag policy — strictly enforced at security screening. Bring a clear bag or no bag.
- Fully cashless — cards and digital payments only, everywhere on site.
- No outside food or drink — anything brought from outside the festival perimeter will not make it past the checkpoint. Alcohol is available inside with valid ID.
The re-entry question — two answers
Here is the one place the official guidance does not agree with itself. The Fan Festival FAQ says re-entry is possible: guests who wish to re-enter must present a valid QR code. The matchday guide, meanwhile, states flatly that GA tickets do not allow re-entry. Until the host committee reconciles the two pages, plan as if you cannot leave and come back — arrive with everything you need, and treat any QR-code re-entry as a bonus rather than a guarantee.
If free is not enough
General admission costs nothing, but upgrades exist: premium passes run $45 to $65 and add a private bar and private restrooms, while VIP packages — those perks plus an air-conditioned building, a real asset in an Atlanta June — run $225 to $325, per Atlanta News First.
Source: FIFA World Cup 26 Atlanta Matchday Guide and FIFA Fan Festival Atlanta (Atlanta Host Committee, June 2026); pricing via Atlanta News First (June 11, 2026).