Island city’s World Cup festival unites community, divides businesses

Island city’s World Cup festival unites community, divides businesses

Published 10:34 am Tuesday, July 21, 2026

While Spain may have lifted the FIFA World Cup trophy as champions, some might argue the tournament’s biggest winners can be found in the West Shore.

Across the six-week sporting extravaganza, thousands flocked to ‘Langford United’ watch parties at The Station on Station Avenue, where soccer fans of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities gathered to cheer, celebrate and commiserate together.

“It’s awesome,” said Argentina supporter Miguel Cerda during halftime of the July 19 final. “It brings people together – the kids are having fun.”

“We should do more of this. It’s a good community thing,” added Cerda’s friend – and sporting rival – Pablo Martinez, waving a Spanish flag.

Even supporters whose teams fell short found something to celebrate.

“It’s different than sitting at home watching a game by yourself,” said England supporter Sandy Bal, shortly after the July 15 semi-final. “And I’ve met a lot of people from here – it brings the community together.”

Mayor Scott Goodmanson said the festival attracted visitors from across the Capital Regional District and as far away as Nanaimo, while also giving locals a renewed appreciation for their city, one telling him the city has “knocked it out of the park.”

“This is really the best part, getting to build that community, showcasing Langford for those maybe that haven’t been here for this type of an event, and highlighting everything that’s around,” he said.

But like the beautiful game itself, Langford United became a tale of two halves.

While some vendors benefited from long lineups, others say the festival came at a steep cost.

Charlene Hird, general manager of Floyd’s Diner, estimates the restaurant lost thousands of dollars in revenue during the event.

“Every weekend we’ve lost probably $8,000 that the games have been on and then daily, probably about $1,500,” she said. “It’s not a little loss that we’ve taken here.”

The downturn forced the diner to reduce staff hours and scale back food orders, Hird said.

She blames what she calls the “misleading” closure of Station Avenue and Langford United visitors using the strip mall’s parking lot, unperturbed by the risk of a fine.

“They were fine with a $40 ticket,” says Hird. “We were not expecting that.”

While she appreciates the sense of community the festival creates, Hird believes it would have been suited to a venue such as Starlight Stadium or a park with sufficient parking.

“I’ve just been kind of waiting for the end of it. It couldn’t come soon enough,” said Hird.

Having only opened in March, Finest at Sea event coordinator Emily Collis said they could not confirm if the event had impacted sales at their retail shipping container on Station Avenue.

However, she said customers have found it difficult to access the site because of the road closure and lack of parking.

“And I will say the people that came to the station to watch the FIFA party were not shopping,” adds Collis. “They were there to watch the games, and then immediately after the game was over, the whole site cleared out.

“So people didn’t linger to shop.”

Still, Collis is hopeful the watch parties will have a long-term impact for The Station and its vendors.

“My hope is that over time it will have built awareness that the shops are there and that people will come back,” she said.

For Eda Teksan, owner of gift store Little Lovely Things on Station Avenue, the experience has been a mixed bag. Families used the area “like a playground” for their children, she says, while some of her products were damaged during the excitement.

Teksan said while some of her neighbouring businesses did experience a decrease in sales, for her, sales “did not change that much.”

“There were some wonderful people who discovered this place for the first time, did some great shopping and were very friendly,” she said. “But we had expected the shopping activity to be much higher.”

The Langford United festival was made possible with the support of $85,000 funding from the province. The city was one of 32 B.C. communities to receive a share of $1.7 million from the Community Event Support Fund.

In a statement, the city said the event showcased the diversity and vibrancy of Langford, highlighted the growing cultural energy of The Langford Station district.

“As with all major events, particularly new ones of this scale, there are lessons to learn,” they said. “Not every business will see immediate benefits, while some have reported strong numbers

“The city recognizes the importance of balancing community celebration with the needs of local commercial areas. Events often generate economic and reputational benefits that emerge over time, a pattern seen across the province.”

Moving forward, the city said it will continue to refine its event strategy to ensure celebrations can be beneficial for residents, visitors and businesses.