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Kansas City is rolling out the welcome mat for the World Cup — and it starts with a heart.
A 65-foot heart greets fans as they enter the FIFA Fan Fest grounds at the National World War I Museum and Memorial. Organizers said it captures exactly what the city wants to say to the world.
"The charm, the hospitality being core drivers, and really wanting to embrace that warm welcome to the world — the heart was just such a natural conclusion," said Kelly Holton, a senior principal and brand activation director at Populous.
Nearly every fan slipping through the gates Friday evening, ahead of the USA men's national team's opening game against Paraguay, stopped for a photo with the heart behind them.
It is well on its way to becoming the defining image of Kansas City's World Cup.
"It's really awesome with the campaign that the Kansas City hearts have been all around the city, and even as far out as I've seen them in Eudora," said Lori Stussie, a Lawrence resident who attended KC Fan Fest on Friday. "It all kind of ties into together."
Holton said the installation is more than a photo opportunity.
"It's the beacon, it's the welcome message, it's the backdrop, and it really does express the sentiment of Kansas City," Holton said.
The heart was designed by Populous, a Kansas City-based firm with a worldwide reach and offices around the globe.
Populous, which also took the lead creating Fan Fest, has designed or reimagined numerous World Cup venues — past, present and future — among hundreds of sports properties. But Fan Fest was personal, because it represents home.
"Oh, 100% — just for the community of Kansas City, it's a sense of pride," Bobby Sloan, principal of the Populous Events Group, said.
Sloan said KC2026 CEO Pam Kramer set the bar high in terms of Fan Fest expectations from the start.
"Starting out, Pam Kramer mentioned this was that she wanted to make sure one of the lasting memories was how did the smallest host city throw the biggest and best fan fest," Sloan said.
Fans who turned out Friday said the event is delivering on that promise.
"It's crazy," said Nick Bierbrodt, a USMNT fan who attended Friday's Fan Fest with his wife and 2-year-old son James. "I've never seen so many people in Kansas City just with every type of soccer jersey. I saw people with Japan coming in. Really cool, awesome setup overall."
Kansas City's Fan Fest kicked off Thursday with a raucous pro-Mexico crowd for the opening game, and Sloan said that moment made the nearly two-year effort worth it.
"Just seeing the smiles yesterday, once we've been through this almost two-year process, that was the moment for me where I was like, 'OK, all those long hours, all the work, that is it,' that to me is the special part," Sloan said.
More memories are on the way.
After the USMNT game, legendary Kansas City rapper Tech N9ne is scheduled to take the stage for the first of his two Fan Fest concerts.
The Chainsmokers are set to perform after Saturday's game as the first weekend of Fan Fest rolls on.
It will be open for 16 more days after Friday. All dates and performance schedules are on the KC2026 website.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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