Seattle “Pride Match” teams during World Cup will be Egypt and Iran. What happens now?

The first Queer-related controversy has come to Seattle’s upcoming World Cup soccer games, despite the best of intentions. Because the 2026 World Cup and Pride Weekend happen to overlap, the city planned to host a “Pride Match” on June 26, featuring LGBTQIA+ honors and artists, the first of its kind across FIFA’s 90-year history.

The only problem? It was decided before knowing who would actually play the game. On Friday, December 5, the luck of the draw decided it would be the national teams of Egypt and Iran, two countries where being in a homosexual relationship is a criminal offense. In Iran, you can legally still be executed for who you love. 

According to international surveys, 84% of Egyptian society would not accept a homosexual as their neighbor. Ninety percent of Iranians said that homosexuality is never justifiable. Placing these same countries in front of an out-and-proud audience will obviously be awkward for Seattle’s public image, but could this go beyond symbolism? How will a wealth of tourists, some likely to hold homophobic beliefs, coexist with a city of out Queer people? 

The most practical question, firstly, is how Pride itself will shape itself around the World Cup. Traditionally, Pride hosts its Sunday festivities at Seattle Center. That’s where the parade ends after traveling down Fourth Avenue, and where performers like Monét X Change, Versace Doll, and many others have entertained for free. 

However, next year, Seattle Center will become a “Fan Celebration Zone,” home to large-scale displays of live FIFA games, concerts, public art, activations, and storefronts for BIPOC businesses. This will last the entirety of Seattle’s involvement in the World Cup — six matches across three weeks starting June 15 — and there are preparations for constant waves of over 30,000 visitors per day. 

Unless the “Fan Celebration Zone” quietly disappears and reappears over Pride Weekend, this likely means that Seattle Pride will be without its celebratory home for the first time in decades, and there has been no announced replacement. Will Sunday activities be moved to Volunteer Park, maybe the new waterfront, or be canceled entirely? Will this change the Pride Parade’s usual route, which is toward Seattle Center? 

If the parade instead maintains its usual course, this unfortunately would bring another problem: the possibility of a public clash. If Egyptian or Iranian tourists come across Queer citizens openly expressing their identities, could we witness conflict, or even violence, as a result? 

This is slightly unfair to place on the tourists’ shoulders, admittedly. Obviously, one shouldn’t be presumptuous about Iranians and Egyptians visiting during the games. However, because these countries don’t track LGBTQIA+-related hate crimes, we don’t know how Iranians and Egyptians respond, on average, to open displays of homosexuality in public spaces. The Pride Parade, for example, would end only a block away from the Fan Zone. What might happen if these two events intersect?

The Seattle LGBTQ+ Commission, the Seattle FIFA Committee, and the incoming Wilson administration were asked for comment on these public safety concerns but have yet to provide statements. 

Despite these concerns, there are those who viewed the news from Washington, DC positively. Cyd Zeigler, cofounder of the publication OutSports, wrote that he believes the “Pride Match” will actually put a necessary spotlight on the continued fight for Queer rights internationally. 

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