Ahead of the World Cup games hosted in Seattle, the FIFA Local Organizing Committee, the body responsible for preparing Seattle to host the games, set in motion a series of art installations across the city.
In an interview with KIRO 7, Leo Flor, Chief Legacy Officer of the committee, said that one of the goals of the committee was to “make the games work for the community.”
“We want people to see how cool Seattle is and we want them to come back,” he said.
Some of the new art installations across the city include murals on monorail poles featuring all the flags of the competing teams, as well as 15 new, smaller murals and artworks in the area around the stadium.
In an interview with KIRO 7, local artist Shogo Ota said his design for the Seattle Host Logo, which can be seen across the city, was intended to represent both soccer and the Seattle community.
Three larger murals have also joined the Seattle skyline in time for the games. According to the organizing committee, one artist’s work was inspired by the art program at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
“Now there are patients from that program that are going to be able to look up at this mural for years to come and see themselves in the art that came about during the World Cup,” Flor said.
The committee would not tell KIRO 7 how much the artwork all costs, but said that the expenses were covered by fundraising.