LOS ANGELES -- On Tuesday night, an invite-only crowd of nearly 300 congregated at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the L.A. host committee’s official World Cup kickoff party. Celebrities including American soccer legend Mia Hamm, actors Will Ferrell and Brendan Hunt, former NBA player Robert Horry and NSYNC’s Lance Bass walked the red carpet, while Melissa Etheridge took to the stage for a musical performance.
But no guest drew more attention than FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who warned the crowd of the “hoard of barbarians” about to invade their city: “They will all have their faces colored with the colors of their countries. They will be dressed in the jerseys with colors of their countries. They will be wearing flags. And they just want to enjoy and have fun, because that’s what we want to do with the world.”
Other speakers included host committee CEO Kathy Schloessman; co-chairs Larry Freedman, the co-president of LAFC, and Chris Klein, the former Galaxy president now leading Hometown Soccer Holdings; and Kevin Demoff, the president of team and media operations for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. KSE’s SoFi Stadium will host eight World Cup matches this summer.
Attendees included AEG President and CEO Dan Beckerman, Cain International’s Jonathan Goldstein, LA28 COO John Harper, FIFA’s Amy Hopfinger, USOPP COO Danny Koblin and long-time sports executives Bob Graziano, Steve Lopes, Alan Rothenberg and Amy Trask, among numerous others. Ferrell, Hamm, Cobi Jones and Eva Longoria appeared in their capacity as Los Angeles community ambassadors for the World Cup.
The Coliseum will serve as the home of the FIFA Fan Fest from Thursday through Sunday, with plans for live game broadcasts, musical performances and activations from host committee sponsors Amgen, Kaiser Permanente and others. Organizers expect a sold-out crowd of 40,000 for Mexico’s tournament-opening game against South Africa on Thursday.
