From the mayor:

Parker: Philadelphia, the birthplace of democracy, is ready to welcome the world in 2026. We will engage every corner of Philadelphia — with meaningful investments, economic opportunities, and a spirit of celebration across every neighborhood with investments of over $100 million. This means community events and programming, investments in our commercial corridors, and cleaning and beautifying citywide as we prepare for spectacles like the @FIFAWorldCup, @MLB All Star Week and all @America250 celebrations.

The last part there is basically you preparing the house before having company. You vacuum the carpets, Swiffer the floors, and then stuff your kids’ toys into a bin, but not before tripping over them at least three times. Your wife, on the verge of a panic attack, cleans the upstairs bathroom, even though nobody is going upstairs. Then your mother-in-law walks in the door and says “looks nice in here.”

That’s the impression we’re trying to make on Vaclav from Slovakia, who is in the United States for the first time to watch his team play Nigeria in the World Cup group stage. Or Bobby from LA, who flew across the country to see Citizens Bank Park and take in the All Star festivities. Or the non-sports fans who are here for America’s 250th birthday, in the place where it all began. There’s so much going on in Philadelphia in 2026 and we’re gonna have a ton of eyeballs on us. There’s an opportunity to show the rest of the world that we’re a first-class city and not a collection of sleaze balls who ride beat-up SEPTA trains to South Philly to tailgate in piss-soaked parking lots. Or are we? Do we just give the rest of the world the full Philadelphia experience instead, and spend the $100 million on air conditioning for public schools? Vaclav may go home and tell everyone in Bratislava that Philly is a shit hole, but “no one likes us in Slovakia, we don’t care.”