Lina Hidalgo Welcomes World Cup Fans to Nrg Stadium

Judge Lina Hidalgo used a newly released Welcome to Houston video to greet international visitors as the World Cup got underway on June 15, 2026, and she tied the message directly to nrg stadium and Harris County. More than 500,000 out-of-town visitors are expected during the tournament, with 75% of them projected to come from other countries.

Lina Hidalgo’s Houston message

Hidalgo framed Harris County as a global gateway and kept the pitch simple: Houston wants the world’s fans to feel at home. She said, "We're known as the Space City, but this summer we're a World Cup city. Every fan will feel at home here. Harris County is ready to welcome you – see you soon!"

The video is part of the county’s push to greet the surge of international arrivals as the tournament runs through Houston. The scale is the headline here: more than half a million visitors, and most of them coming from outside the United States, changes how Harris County has to present itself from the first welcome onward.

Harris County’s visitor surge

The FIFA Houston Host Committee expects 75% of those visitors to be from other countries. That leaves local planners facing a crowd that is not just large, but heavily international, which is why the county’s opening message matters so much at the front door of the event.

Hidalgo’s video does not ask fans to wait for a later greeting. It puts the welcome in place now, before the largest part of the tourist wave arrives, and it links the county’s public face to the World Cup from the start.

World Cup arrival in Houston

Houston’s role in the tournament now includes more than matches and venues. It also has to absorb and guide a visitor base measured in the hundreds of thousands, with the county’s message aiming to match that scale from the outset.