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Soccer fans flocked to the FIFA Fan Fest at Lemon Hill on Saturday despite the dangerous heat.
Philadelphia is under an extreme heat warning, with Saturday’s temperature expected to reach around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and the heat index, a measure of how hot the air feels, expected to soar as high as 106 degrees.
“It is hot,” Brian Keller said as he drank water from a paper cup and stood in front of a giant misting fan. “We flew out from St. Louis on a whim to come see the game, not thinking about the temperatures, just thinking about the experience. But this fan is providing me so much relief right now.”
Keller said watching the World Cup has brought him and his wife “hope” and inspired them.
“The humanity around the World Cup has really been nice, and so we just wanted to be a part of that, so we’re here,” he said.
An analysis by NPR found that Philadelphia is one of the highest-risk World Cup host cities for dangerous heat and humidity. The match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia Saturday evening is expected to be particularly sweltering, since the Lincoln Financial Field does not have a roof or cooling.
A shade tent with misters at FIFA Fan Fest Saturday. (Sophia Schmidt/WHYY)
FIFA put up shade tents, water bottle filling stations and water misters to help fans stay cool at Lemon Hill. Medic tents staffed by Penn Medicine and the Philadelphia Fire Department prepared for the potential of heat illnesses, with cold compresses, drinks with electrolytes and an ice bath tub. FIFA also shortened the hours that Fan Fest is open Saturday, which will now close at the conclusion of the 1 p.m. match. Saturday evening’s match in Philadelphia will not be broadcast at Lemon Hill.
Earlier this week, roughly 100 people were treated for heat illness along the route of Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014 steam locomotive in Berks County.