Combine Dynamic Message Signage and Social Media Campaigns for Clear, Consistent Traveler Outreach during Major Events.
Two-Day Peer Exchange Convened in Atlanta Highlighted Key Lessons and Best Practices in Preparation for the 2026 World Cup.
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Preparing for the FIFA World Cup 2026: Lessons from Atlanta and Host Cities Peer Exchange Report
Summary Information
In August 2025, the National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE) convened a peer exchange in Atlanta focused on operational preparedness for the FIFA World Cup 2026. The event brought together over 40 transportation, operations, and emergency management leaders from multiple host cities, alongside representatives from FIFA Mobility Operations. Participants identified best practices for ensuring smooth mobility during one of the largest sporting events ever held in North America. These practices and learnings build upon the discussion at NOCoE’s October 2024 Peer Exchange, held in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The peer exchange resulted in key learnings across six topic areas:
- Communication & Traveler Outreach
- Combine dynamic message signage and social media campaigns for clear, consistent traveler outreach.
- Develop a joint communications plan with pre-approved templates for dynamic messaging, 511, and press releases.
- Designate communications liaisons to synchronize real-time updates with FIFA communications channels.
- Institutional Coordination & Governance
- Develop an interagency memorandum of understanding and assign embedded liaisons across transportation, law enforcement, and emergency operations. Embed leads in unified command centers during planning and operations.
- Technology, Data & Infrastructure Modernization
- Conduct a “technology readiness review” prior to event day, ensuring cybersecurity protocols, redundancy, and inter-agency data access are established.
- Mobility & Transit Demand Management (TDM)
- Integrate local transit and parking data directly into fan-facing applications.
- Safety, Crowd Management & Incident Response
- Develop heat-response and surge-management protocols integrated into an incident-management dashboard.
- Performance Measurement & After-Action Review
- Use dashboards that integrate probe data, transit ridership, and incident logs.
- Create a shared “Performance Playbook” template to capture comparable metrics such as travel time reliability, clearance times, and modal splits.
