Event-Driven Capital Absorption and the 2026 World Cup | Living Cities

Major events can bring a sudden surge of visitors, attention, and investment to a city. Yet without the right systems in place, that activity may produce only temporary gains, bypass local businesses, or accelerate displacement.

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaching, host cities have an opportunity to think beyond the event itself. Living Cities’ new brief examines how cities can convert concentrated demand into sustained, locally rooted small business growth by strengthening the systems that determine where capital flows and who is positioned to benefit.

Drawing on insights from Atlanta and Kansas City, the brief explores two distinct approaches to preparing local businesses and economic ecosystems for event-driven growth. It examines how coordination, financing, visibility, spatial strategy, and operational readiness can shape outcomes before, during, and long after a major event.

Inside the Brief

Readers will find:

• Lessons from Atlanta and Kansas City’s preparations for the 2026 World Cup
• Practical implications for city officials, funders, financial institutions, and business-support organizations
• A five-part diagnostic for assessing a city’s ability to absorb and distribute event-driven investment
• Strategies for strengthening business readiness, capital deployment, ecosystem coordination, and long-term economic infrastructure

Major events may be temporary, but the systems built around them do not have to be. This brief offers leaders a framework for treating moments of heightened investment not as isolated programs, but as opportunities to build stronger and more inclusive local economies.