Floating soccer festival sets sail ahead of World Cup
A massive floating soccer festival, dubbed the Seattle Soccer Celebration Barge, has dropped anchor in Elliott Bay just days before the FIFA World Cup, turning the waterfront into a temporary sports playground.
The vessel, originally a fish‑container ship, was converted into a sports oasis by the Seattle Sounders FC, Seattle Reign FC and Analog Heart Creative studio, and it made a slow 7‑knot cruise through Puget Sound before slipping into the bay early Thursday morning.
FOX 13 reporter Taylor Winkel boarded the craft to capture the scene, noting that the journey began at the Port of Everett at 2 a.m. and that the Seattle Fire Department honored the arrival with a ceremonial water salute at 8:30 a.m., with an official docking at Pier 62 expected by 9 a.m.
Inside, the barge boasts a custom mini‑soccer pitch, a wall of LED screens, live DJ sets and appearances by professional players, all powered by Lenovo, which supplied the computing hardware that drives the digital displays.
The attraction is part of the RAVE Foundation’s “52 Fields” initiative, a program aimed at scattering free mini‑pitches across Washington state, and while entry to the barge itself starts at $52 for adults and $42 for children, the surrounding festivities at Waterfront Park and Pier 62 are open to the public at no cost.
Those public spaces will host youth soccer activations, cultural performances and additional live match viewings, giving families a chance to experience the World Cup excitement without a ticket.