GoKawiilThe 2026 FIFA World Cup is taking over our stadiums, TVs, the news and social feeds -- and now the skies above Seattle, too. For the six soccer matches hosted in the city, Seattle is launching a drone show that includes something not seen in other drone displays: a scoreboard showing that day's team flags and final scores.
It's a technical feat that's riding an unexpected wave of interest and excitement around the World Cup being hosted in Canada, the US and Mexico -- particularly since the US is usually associated more with (American) football than fútbol. As cities like Boston, San Francisco and Houston compete for attention (and international tourists), Seattle's answer is to create a spectacle in the sky that can be enjoyed by visitors and locals alike.
I wanted to learn more about how a show like this with hundreds of drones gets off the ground, so I headed to a cordoned-off grass field at Seattle Center, a complex originally built to host the 1962 World's Fair where innovations such as the cordless phone were unveiled.
A drone show with a new twist
When Seattle residents and visitors look to the sky near the Space Needle, they'll see a 12-minute show that includes football (soccer) imagery, a giant whale tail batting a ball and icons celebrating the event.
What's different is a scoreboard showing the two flags of the teams that played that day and the final score, requiring custom changes for every show.
Enlarge Image The drone show following the first match between Egypt and Belgium, which resulted in a 1-1 draw. Jeff Carlson/CNET
The display runs on days when games are played in Seattle on June 15, June 19, June 24, June 26, July 1 and July 6. Each drone show happens once it's dark, which at this time of year in Seattle is quite late: 10 p.m. or later.
The show is the brainchild of Visit Seattle, a private, nonprofit organization that markets the benefits and attractions of the Emerald City. Jorge Gotuzzo, the World Cup activation lead for Visit Seattle, explained the appeal of the scoreboard idea. "Being able to provide a show like this one to people who are not able to go to a match, I think that was one of the big goals for us," he said, "but also to showcase Seattle on the big stage."
A coordinated aerial dance with 400 drones
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