The “a-ha” moment that became Kansas City’s FIFA World Cup iconic symbol
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- Populous designed the FIFA Fan Fest at the World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City.
- KC2026 CEO Pam Kramer’s remark about locals dressing like tourists inspired the symbol.
- The Heart of the Game is a 65-foot-tall heart-shape entrance on the festival’s south.
Tasked with designing the FIFA KC Fan Fest site for the World Cup, Kansas City sports architecture firm Populous checked the boxes of musts to be included for the site at the World War I Museum.
Stage for live entertainment, video boards for game watching, plenty of eateries. But a signature piece was needed.
Principals gathered to exchange ideas, and something KC2026 CEO Pam Kramer had said stuck with the group.
“Pam had mentioned very early on that Kansas City’s the one city were everyone dresses like tourists,” said Principal, senior event manager Bobby Sloan.
What did that mean?
Look in your T-shirt drawer. Check out the neighbor’s casual wear. Who doesn’t have a shirt with the center emblem of a “KC” tucked inside a heart?
The heartland. Heart of America. Kansas City.
According to the Kansas City Area Development Council, “heartland” was first used to describe the nation’s mid-section in the early 20th century, and Kansas City quickly claimed the nickname as its own. Railroad workers wore KC heart pins in the early 1900s.
The Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues wore a KC heart patch on their sleeve in the 1940s. Charlie Hustle, the local vintage T-shirt company started the KC heart line in 2011 and has sold more than 1 million.
Kramer’s comment, Sloan said, “was the a-ha moment.” Populous put vision to pad and pixels and Fan Fest had its symbol.
“The charm, the hospitality being core drivers and really wanting to embrace that warm welcome to the world,” said Kelly Holton, Senior Principal, brand activation director. “The heart was just the natural conclusion, given it’s such a beloved symbol of Kansas City.”
Dubbed The Heart of the Game, the 65-foot-tall heart-shape entrance sits on the south lawn near the entrance. From the south, it offers a view of the stage and the Liberty Memorial. When Fan Fest is open — a total of 18 days from June 11-July 18 — it undoubtedly will become the lawn’s most photographed and selfie spot.
More than 300,000 have registered for Fan Fest, with a limit of 25,000 per day.
Populous reach extends well beyond Fan Fest. It has designed or led the renovation of a handful of stadiums in this World Cup, including those in Atlanta, Houston, Foxborough, Mass., Miami, Mexico City, Monterrey, Mexico, and Kansas City.
It’s influence on stadium design will continue at the World Cups of 2030 in Morocco, Portugal and Spain, and in 2034 in Saudi Arabia.
“This is one of the international events that we’ve been part of for 30 some years,” said Bruce Miller, Populous chairman and CEO. “We’ve done many World Cups as event planners, many of the facilities.”
By then, Kansas City’s role in this year’s event will be a memory. But is there a place for permanence with the heart entrance, if not on the Liberty Memorial grounds than someplace else in the area?
Populous has heard that question often in the opening days of Fan Fest.
“I think there’s definitely a curiosity on how it could live on,” Holton said. “Is it Kansas City’s Eiffel Tower? It will definitely live on in people’s memories, whether it has a permanent iteration of itself in the future of Kansas City.”
The heart wasn’t constructed to endure like a monument. It’s serving its purpose over the next few weeks,
“For us,” Horton said, “it’s the welcome statement to the world, the backdrop to fandom. It’s about bringing everybody together and long-lasting impact of their experience here.”