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Coquitlam to spend $300k on World Cup viewing parties

By Jeremy Shepherd

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March 12, 2026

file photo Jeremy Shepherd

The better Canada’s team plays, the more Coquitlam pays.

Coquitlam council unanimously voted to put $300,000 toward staging four 2026 FIFA World Cup viewing parties beginning June 12 with an event at Percy Perry.

Besides a big screen, the event is set to feature opening ceremonies, programming during halftime, and soccer activities for kids. Coquitlam Metro Ford Soccer is tentatively slated to help with the event, according to a city staff report.

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After a slightly more low-key affair at Blue Mountain Park, the city has also scheduled a Canada Day viewing Party on Trevor Wingrove Way.

The party is set to move back to Percy Perry for a Gold Medal Match on July 19.

However, the budget includes a contingency fund of $100,000 to be spent if Team Canada advances in the tournament.

The city is also putting aside $25,000 for a FIFA block party program.

City staff have applied for grants which, if approved, would cut city costs.

Council unanimously approved the initiative on Monday. There was no discussion.

Author

Jeremy Shepherd

A chiropractor and a folk singer, after having one great kid, decided to push their luck and have one more, a boy they named Jeremy Shepherd.

Shepherd grew up around Blue Mountain Park in Coquitlam, following a basketball around and trying his best to get to the NBA (it didn’t work out, at least not yet).

With no career plans after graduating Porter Elementary school, Jeremy Shepherd pursued higher education at Como Lake Middle School and eventually, Centennial High School.

Approximately 1,000 movies and several beers later in life, Shepherd made a change.

Having done nothing worth writing, he decided to see if he could write something worth reading.

Since graduating journalism school at Langara College, Shepherd has been a reporter, editor and, reluctantly, a content provider for community newspapers around Metro Vancouver for more than 10 years.

He worked with dogged reporters, eloquently indignant curmudgeons and creative photographers, all of whom shared a little of what they knew.

Now, as he goes about the business of raising two fascinating humans alongside a wonderful partner, Shepherd is delighted to report news and tell stories in the Tri-Cities.

He runs, reads, and is intrigued by art, science, smart cities and new ideas. He is pleased to meet you.