Event Security: Lessons From the 2026 World Cup

The World Cup is for everyone: lifelong soccer fans, casual viewers, people who are mostly there for the snacks, and even TikTok scrollers who are only tuning in to see whether Neal Kennedy is actually the starting center forward for the men’s national team. 

Whether you're going to a match, attending a watch party, casually catching updates through a group chat, or living in one of the host cities this summer, the World Cup is on its way to a stadium or screen near you.

The 2026 World Cup Is in a League of Its Own

The World Cup is always big, but this year’s is in a league of its own. It will feature 104 matches across 16 host cities—up from 32 matches in 2022—with the U.S. hosting 78 matches. It’s also the first ever World Cup to be co-hosted across three countries. 6.5 million people are expected to attend matches across the tournament.

Boston Consulting Group projects the tournament could generate more than $5 billion in short-term economic activity across North America, supporting approximately 40,000 jobs and over $1 billion in incremental worker earnings. Individual host cities are projected to see between $160 million and $620 million in incremental economic activity. Hotel room revenue is projected to rise between 7% and 25% in June 2026, with the sharpest increases on match days and in cities hosting semifinals or the final.

Alongside the economic opportunity, millions of passionate visitors flooding dozens of cities creates a pretty big security challenge.

Event Security on a Massive Scale 

A World Cup match doesn’t just fill a stadium. It fills transit corridors, parking lots, restaurants, and public spaces that may be blocks or miles away from the venue—and not just for one or two days. For some host cities, this chaos will last weeks. Philadelphia, for example, will host six World Cup matches over 18 days. Wayne Jacobs, FBI Special Agent in Charge, explained, “It’s almost like the Super Bowl, only we’re having 6 of them over the course of 18 days.” 

Securing host cities during the events will be an all-hands-on-deck effort. FEMA awarded $625 million through the FIFA World Cup Grant Program to the 11 U.S. host cities to support security, preparedness, law enforcement, emergency response, and other public-safety needs. FEMA also awarded $250 million through the Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Grant Program to World Cup host states and the National Capital Region to strengthen drone detection, tracking, and mitigation capabilities.

The Pillars of Event Security

Site Assessment

Site assessment is the process of identifying where people, vehicles, employees, vendors, and emergency responders will move throughout an event area. For a World Cup match, a thorough site assessment might include: 

• Threat identification: Determining potential issues that could disrupt the event, from unauthorized access and theft to medical emergencies, severe weather, or suspicious activity.
• Visibility review: Identifying blind spots, poorly lit areas, and obstructed views.
• Resource placement: Deciding where to place personnel, barriers, solar security cameras, lighting, signage, and mobile security units.

Crowd Management

With so many people concentrated in and around stadiums, security teams need a plan for keeping crowds organized, informed, and safe. Crowd management efforts might include: 

• Entry and exit flow: Planning how attendees will enter and leave the stadium without creating dangerous backups at gates, sidewalks, parking lots, or transit areas.
• Communication: Using signage, staff direction, alerts, loudspeakers, and other communication tools to give clear instructions when needed.
• Behavior monitoring: Watching for signs of escalating conflict, disorderly conduct, overcrowding, or suspicious activity before it turns into a larger issue.
• Traffic coordination: Accounting for vehicles, pedestrians, rideshares, buses, and emergency responders so the areas around the event do not become gridlocked.

Emergency Response

Ideally, everything will go off without a hitch. But in case something does go wrong, teams need a response plan. Emergency response efforts might include:

• Incident detection: Monitoring for emergencies through on-site staff, remote monitoring, security cameras, attendee reports, and automated alerts.
• Response coordination: Establishing communication channels between law enforcement, fire departments, EMS, private security, event staff, and venue operators.
• Public communication: Preparing clear instructions for attendees through loudspeakers, digital alerts, signage, and staff direction.
• Evacuation planning: Mapping evacuation routes, identifying exit points, and reducing crowding at choke points.
• Post-incident review: Reviewing reports, camera footage, and response timelines to understand what happened and improve future event security plans.

How LVT Helps Secure Events and Cities

If you attend a match, you may see an LVT® Unit nearby. LVT helps cities, businesses, and security teams add visibility and deterrence in parking lots, retail centers, venues, and other places where crowds gather before, during, or after events.

Visible Deterrence

LVT Units stand about 22 feet high and take up the space of a parking stall. When their presence alone isn’t enough to deter bad actors, flashing lights, loudspeakers, and AI-powered warnings help discourage theft, vandalism, trespassing, loitering, and other unwanted activity. 

Remote Monitoring

Through the LVT® Platform, teams can view live video feeds, manage alerts, and check activity across multiple locations from one place. This helps smaller teams monitor large events. It also gives responders the ability to assess a situation before walking into it, reducing unnecessary exposure to danger.

Solar Security Cameras

Our solutions get their power from the sun, not the power grid, which is especially convenient in outdoor areas, temporary sites, and locations where running power would take too much time or infrastructure. Plus, you never have to worry about losing security coverage due to grid outages.

Mobile Security Units

Large events can create security needs that only last for a few days, weeks, or months. LVT’s mobile security units give teams flexible coverage they can deploy, scale, and relocate as priorities change. That means added visibility for major events, busy seasons, or emerging risks without spending budget on fixed systems built for short-term problems.

→ If you’re interested in learning how LVT can help you secure cities or temporary events, contact our team for a demo.