Soccer meets nature at Vancouver mountaintop watch party

NORTH VANCOUVER, British Columbia — World Cup fans in Vancouver took to the great outdoors Saturday with a mountaintop watch party accessed by gondola.

The match between England and Panama was shown on a big screen atop Grouse Mountain, a 4,100-foot mountain that's part of the Pacific Ranges with a sweeping view of British Columbia.

Some 300 people attended the event, which was part of Destination Canada's effort to blend the nation's natural attractions with the World Cup. When Jude Bellingham scored England's breakthrough goal in the second half, the fans roared.

“It makes it much more immersive, right, in the sense that you've got multiple layers. You've got the game going on, and then all of the sudden, as you then look at the background and look around, it's incredible, incredible with the view,” said event volunteer Stephan Lukac. “This is what it's all about.”

Both Toronto and Vancouver are hosting matches during the tournament. An earlier watch party was held in the Toronto Islands in Lake Ontario. Fans were encouraged to kayak or ferry for a group-stage match between Germany and Ivory Coast.

“To stand on a mountain or paddle on one of the Great Lakes — these experiences are capturing something that is uniquely Canadian," Gloria Loree, senior vice president of marketing strategy and chief marketing officer for Destination Canada, said before the event. “They combine the beauty of the Game with the beauty of Canada’s natural landscapes and the genuine warmth of Canadian hospitality.”

The only thing to dampen the Grouse Mountain watch party was a slight chance of rain and cool temperatures at the peak, which hovered around 50 degrees.

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Connor Joyce contributed to this report. Drew Renner and Connor Joyce are students in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.