World Cup renews community spirit in LA's MacArthur Park

Soccer watch parties are bringing life back to the park that was recently the target of immigration raids and police actions.

1 minute read

June 18, 2026, 9:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Aerial of lake in Macarthur Park in Los Angeles, California with downtown skyline visible in background.

MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, California. | Tiki Tales Films / Shutterstock

A Los Angeles park is playing host to World Cup watch parties, bringing the Latino community in this part of the city back together after a turbulent year and a half punctuated by immigration raids and federal crackdowns.

According to an article in The LA Local by Marina Peña, the city has organized several watch parties in the park, as well as a two-day open streets celebration on July 10 and 11. MacArthur Park and the surrounding neighborhood has long been a hub for the city's Central American community and other immigrant groups and served as a key site of pro-immigrant marches in 2006-2007.

Monday, June 15, 2026 in The LA Local

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