Showcase Atlanta Director says it’s not too late for local businesses to become World Cup vendors

World Cup

Lamar Stewart, the interim executive director of Showcase Atlanta, is preparing local businesses to benefit from the thousands of soccer fans who are coming to the city this summer for the 2026 FIFA World Cup games. (David Nicolai/Showcase Atlanta/LaShawn Hudson/WABE)

The June 15 match between Spain and Cabo Verde kicks off the series of eight FIFA World Cup games hosted in Atlanta. It’s almost four years to the day when organizers with the international soccer tournament selected the Georgia capital as one of the 16 host cities. Millions of dollars have been invested to get Atlanta in World Cup-ready shape, and the city is reportedly projected to see a $1 billion economic impact.

Now, with less than 30 days to go, what have city officials done to prepare Atlanta for thousands of global visitors, and what still needs to be done? On Monday’s “Closer Look,” host Rose Scott spoke with Lamar Stewart, the interim executive director of Showcase Atlanta. He shared how the city is now in the execution phase of its World Cup preparations.

Like the 1996 Olympic Games, Stewart says Mayor Andre Dickens wants to once again prove Atlanta can host a large-scale event, and in return, benefit from it. Allowing the games to “happen with us, not to us.” To accomplish that, Stewart says it starts with educating local business owners.

“We can educate them about what corporate partnership looks like,” said Stewart. “The money that goes into it, other ways that you can kind of peacock a little bit to be seen.”

But long after the World Cup competitors played their last game on the pitch at Mercedez-Benz Stadium, Stewart says Showcase Atlanta will continue to connect local vendors and small businesses with big ticket events. In the years to come, Atlanta will prepare to host Super Bowl LXII in 2028, the 2031 NCAA Men’s Division I Final Four, and ongoing large-scale conferences and conventions.

“There were plenty of small businesses who were wondering, ‘When a large-scale event comes to town, how do I get seen? How do I get in front of them?’” Stewart said. “They say, ‘How do I do that?’ And so, we ask the question, which is, majority of the organizers will reach out to the host committee or whoever. The host committee then will reach out to an ACVB, that’s the Atlanta Visitors and Convention Bureaus. They will provide them with a list, and that’s how it would happen.”

Stewart says it’s not too late for vendors who want to sell their products to Atlanta’s World Cup crowds. He said watch parties will be happening across the metro area, and some will need vendors.

”There are vendor markets that’ll be happening in different areas. There’s tiers to it. You have some that are happening around the stadium. You have some that are happening at some of these community engagement events,” Stewart said. “We have two watch party events that’ll be happening, one at Old Fourth Ward. We have another one that’ll be happening over at Piedmont Park. Decatur is going to be having their watch areas. We have other neighborhoods.”

Stewart said for entrepreneurs and vendors who want to be seen by the scores of soccer fans, he urges you to visit the Showcase Atlanta website for all the information on how to register your business.