FIFA World Cup 2026
Brand Launch

Client

FIFA

Project Type

Brand Experience.
Live Performance

Location

Los Angeles, California, USA

Launching the FIFA World Cup 26's official brand

Where do you launch the World’s biggest sporting event for the world’s most popular sport? On top of the world that's where.

What FIFA asked for

The 2026 World Cup is anticipated to be the world’s largest sporting event ever, with 16 host cities across the USA, Mexico and Canada. FIFA asked us to create a landmark event to launch the Official World Cup emblem and the 2026 campaign.

Where our thinking led us

Our insight was simple and human: if any sport can claim to be universal, it’s football. In a world all too often divided into haves and have-nots, football unites the world.

It fosters pride. It gives a deep sense of belonging to players, fans and nations, whoever they are and wherever they come from. All 3.5 billion of them worldwide. Football is global inclusivity in action.

What we did

How do you express football’s incredible universality and inclusivity in a single event? Our first solution was to set it somewhere renowned for its universal perspective; the world-famous Griffith Observatory, perched high above the Hollywood Hills above Los Angeles, from where over 4 million people have looked deep into the cosmos. We chose an iconic location befitting of the world’s biggest sporting tournament to give greater opportunity to awe the audience and maximise the brand reveals.

Partnering with Moment Factory, we created a show that celebrated key moments in FIFA’s history and celebrated its ethos of inclusivity facing into the future. In that iconic venue, we incorporated staging that harmonised with the architecture of the observatory, bringing together a magnetic blend of celebrities, legends, performers and technology.

Immersive content ensured that the presentation of the new brand was reflected in every element of the guest experience. What made this project even more exceptional was a partnership created by Catapult and Moment Factory to co-design an unforgettable event, build iconic sets, create world class content, produce a show performance with VIP Guests and broadcast it live from a greenfield site in the Hollywood Hills, all in just under six weeks.

There were over 300,000 views of the live broadcast on FIFA’s channel. 26 global networks broadcast the event live. The World Cup 2026 brand made headlines and kick-started a global chat about World Cup 2026.

drone light show to reveal the 16 host cities across the USA, Mexico and Canada

global networks broadcast the event live

+

views of the live broadcast on FIFA’s channel

Testimonials

"Catapult did an excellent job, and they followed the plan nicely. It was a team effort of the best kind. I'm grateful to you and your team for your patience and persistence in completing this project. And for your excellent choice of contractor, who seemed genuinely pleased to be working at the Observatory."

Mark Pine, Deputy Director, Griffith Observatory

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