Vancouver – The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) has now officially concluded policing activities related to FIFA World Cup 2026.

FIFA marked the single largest deployment of police ever in Vancouver with as many as 1,300 officers out and about on each of the seven BC Place match days.

“Public safety is always our top priority.  We planned and trained for this tournament for years and that planning paid off with a truly world-class event, while maintaining business continuity and our core policing duties across the city,” said Deputy Chief Constable Don Chapman, who lead FIFA security planning and coordination.

“Together with the Host City, Vancouver Fire Rescue Services, BC Emergency Health Services, the BC Sheriffs Service and officers from the RCMP, Metro Vancouver Transit Police, Delta Police Department, Calgary Police Service, and Edmonton Police Service we were busy on land, in the air and on local waters. We want to thank all contributing agencies for their work, and we want to thank everyone who came out to events across Vancouver for making sure the city shone for the 39-day tournament.”

“Our members and officers from contributing agencies demonstrated tremendous commitment working long shifts at the Fan Zone, the Last Mile, the Granville Entertainment District, command centers, viewing parties, team hotels and countless other tasks,” said Superintendent Jeff Neuman.

At the same time, Vancouver faced its busiest cruise ship season, with over 100 cruise ships in port, and VPD officers managed 118 protests. From June 11 – July 13, VPD across the city responded to a total of 18,489 calls for service (560 per day), including 1,158 Priority 1 calls for Service (35 per day), as well as 5,224 calls for service (158 per day) in District 1 (downtown core), including 310 Priority 1 calls for service (9 per day).

Criminal code, breach of peace (BOP) and subject intoxicated in a public place (SIPP) arrests in FIFA-specific areas (BC Place, Fan Festival, Granville Entertainment District (GED) and watch parties) from June 11 – July 13, were as follows:

 Incident Type BC Place Fan Fest GED Other Watch Party
Criminal Code Arrests (example Assaults, mischief, etc.) 0 3 36 1
 BOP Files 2 6 99 2
SIPP Files 2 3 42 1

*Please note there is overlap between BOP and SIPP files and some files are counted twice, meaning an individual may have been arrested for both BOP and SIPP files.

“The GED numbers are higher than BC Place and Fan Fest, but we anticipated that would happen and staffed accordingly. While it was busy over a sustained period, it was largely peaceful, with average daily arrests comparable to what we see in the GED on a long weekend, especially when you factor in the number of people there on match days,” said Neuman.

“While it’s difficult to quantify the number of soccer fans who chose to celebrate (or commiserate) together in the GED, it was certainly a huge draw during FIFA before, during and after matches,” said Chapman.

“The VPD supports the extension of the pedestrian zone initiative in the GED and we’re working to ensure it is as successful as possible from a policing perspective. Now that FIFA is over, visitors to the area can expect to see strong deployment daily, nightly and on weekends, in addition to our regular policing complement in the downtown core.”

In total, across all FIFA venues between June 11 and July 13, 16 foreign nationals were arrested in SIPP and BOP files.

A total of 16 fan marches were escorted by police, and VPD provided 312 vehicle escorts from June 11 – July 8, including for internationally protected persons and heads of state, and lower-level escorts for team busses to and from games and practices.

VPD drone pilots flew a total of 811 flights between June 11 and July 13, including 597 over the Last Mile, BC Place, GED, Jack Poole Plaza and Jonathan Rogers Park. Skydio drones were dispatched 214 times as part of the Stadium Quick Response Team.

A total of 745 unauthorized drone flights were noted on the seven match days in restricted airspaces. Of that number, 45 operators were identified and told to land their drones and not fly them in the area, while another 40 drones were remotely jammed and removed from the sky by law enforcement.

Of the roughly 500,000 people in attendance at the Fan Festival from June 11 – July 14 , Canada vs. Qatar on June 18 saw the highest turnout with 40,943 attendees, followed by Canada vs. Switzerland on June 24 with 40,550 people.

“When you consider the Fan Festival alone saw roughly 500,000 visits with just three criminal code arrests, that speaks to positive fan behaviour and how effective our deployments were,” noted Chapman.

“The logistics were complex, but the mission was simple – to ensure residents, business owners and visitors to the city could have a safe, secure, inviting and enjoyable experience during FIFA while maintaining our core policing for the citizens of Vancouver. I’m proud the Department has achieved that goal,” Chapman concluded.