Tensions have flared ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Seattle, as the Egypt-Iran group stage match is set to coincide with a nearby LGBTQ+ Pride celebration. Both Middle Eastern nations, known for strict anti-LBGTQ+ laws, have strongly objected to the planned festival, raising concerns about the clash of cultures during the high-profile match.
Iran and Egypt Object to Pride Fest During World Cup
The 2026 World Cup draw, finalized in Washington, DC, placed Egypt and Iran in Group G alongside Belgium and New Zealand. Their final group match is scheduled for June 27 at Seattle’s Lumen Field. Upon learning that PrideFest activities were planned nearby on the same day, both football federations expressed serious concerns.
Iran Football Federation President Mehdi Taj stated,
“𝑬𝒈𝒚𝒑𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒃𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑 𝒊𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒍. 𝑶𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆, 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓.”
Similarly, Egypt Soccer Federation head Ado Rida said,
“𝑾𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒔. 𝑬𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝑨𝒓𝒂𝒃 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔.”
Seattle Organizers Adjust PrideFest Plans
Seattle PrideFest, celebrated annually since 2007, was initially planned around June 26-28 to coincide with Pride Week and the anniversary of the LGBTQ+ rights movement. Following objections from Egypt and Iran, the organizers confirmed that all celebrations will now be held outside Lumen Field.
Hana Tadesse, vice president of communications for Seattle PrideFest, clarified,
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝑭𝑾𝑪26 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒖𝒎, 𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑾𝒆𝒆𝒌. 𝑭𝑰𝑭𝑨 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒖𝒎, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆.”
Lumen Field, which can host 72,000 fans, will now see the World Cup match proceed without any Pride-related events inside, alleviating the concerns of the two nations while keeping the celebrations nearby for the local community.
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