When FIFA Came to Town, Philly Showed Up Big

The minute visitors landed at PHL, they knew they weren’t in some generic airport. Nope. They walked into a full-blown Philly welcome party. Philly volunteers – PHAMBASSADORS were out there smiling and welcoming and handing out directions like, “Go this way, sweetheart,” because yes - we call strangers sweetheart. It’s a Philly thing. 

Hotels across Center City went all in. Lobbies turned into mini fan zones. Bartenders were shaking up cocktails with names like “The Offside.” Signs popped up in every language you can think of. Hotel Staff seemed genuinely excited to show off their city — the same way we brag about our cheesesteaks, our murals, and our ability to argue passionately about anything. 

South Philly was basically its own World Cup. Fairmount had a viewing party that was like block festivals. University City turned into a global mash-up of fans, flags, and folks yelling at screens in 12 different languages.

The cool thing is- Philly fans, the most passionate on the planet, didn’t just cheer for the U.S. They cheered for everybody. From Ecuador, Brazil, Haiti, Iraq, Croatia, France, Ghana, and Paraguay, it didn’t matter. If you brought energy, Philly matched it.

The thing is, Philly didn’t pretend to be anything we are not. We showed up as our true selves - gritty, warm, funny, loud, and full of heart. The kind of city where someone will give you directions, walk you halfway there, and then tell you where to get the best hoagie on the block.

Visitors felt it. They felt authenticity. They felt welcome. They felt the Philly love -the real kind, not the brochure kind. The real Philly folks joined our community of hospitality professionals and did an amazing job!