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Photograph by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
It’s hard to overstate what a big deal it is for Atlanta to welcome the FIFA World Cup. The last time the United States hosted the tournament, 1994, our fair city was passed over. But today we’re one of 11 U.S. host cities that will draw fans—and eyeballs—from around the globe. As one local host-committee member told me, it’s as if Atlanta is hosting eight Super Bowls in the span of a month.
Spain is at our door, as are Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and many more. Officials estimate we’ll have 500,000 extra people here for the events, and Atlanta has been gearing up. The airport will cut the ribbon on its long-awaited South Terminal parking deck, and MARTA has added a fleet of new trains. Downtown developments have begun to open at breakneck speed, and Lenox Square and Phipps have hired extra staff. I’m honestly not sure the average Atlantan has any idea how big a deal this is going to be: It will alter all our lives this summer (hello, traffic), and our city well into the future.
What do I mean? To avoid gridlocked highways, more locals are going to take MARTA—some for the first time in a long time. If they have a good experience, they might take it again, and again . . . and again. Considering MARTA’s ridership numbers have been down since the pandemic, this has the potential to kick-start a much-needed revival of our public transit system.
Centennial Yards and South Downtown, two pioneering developments that bet on downtown, have hustled to open as much as possible before World Cup crowds descend on the area. If they are successful, they could help pave the way for a remigration into parts of the city that were, until recently, vacant or in need of revitalization. Bottom line: If downtown Atlanta starts to boom over the next few years, the World Cup’s momentum will certainly be a major reason why.
We’ve dedicated this issue of Atlanta magazine to the FIFA World Cup 2026. It’s going to be rowdy, it’s going to be exciting, it’s going to be massive. Thirty years ago, we proved to the world we can host a major global event when we welcomed the Olympics. Now, we’re flexing again. Hang on to your tifos: The World Cup has arrived.
On another note: As we put the finishing touches on this issue, we learned that our beloved former editor-in-chief of 15 years, Lee Walburn, passed away at the age of 89. Walburn is a true legend. The City and Regional Magazine Association honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award; he was a member of the Georgia Magazine Association Hall of Fame; and under his leadership, our magazine won more than 200 journalism awards. Most important, he had a profound effect on the people around him. Our family of editors and writers, past and present, called each other in tears with the news of his passing. My immediate predecessor, Scott Freeman, in the middle of his travels through Europe, dropped everything to write an atlantamagazine.com tribute. And two-time National Magazine Award winner Tom Junod paused his whirlwind book tour to pen a farewell note to the man who gave him his start in the writing business.
Rest easy, Lee. We’ll do our best to make you proud.
This article appears in our June 2026 issue.
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