Long Beach announces events for World Cup
The FIFA World Cup 2026 Los Angeles logo is displayed during a media event for the upcoming FIFA World Cup at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
Long Beach, in collaboration with LA Galaxy, will host a series of free watch parties in downtown Long Beach for the early stages of the FIFA World Cup this summer. Starting June 12, the city will begin holding live match viewings along with various events that will include two free soccer clinics at Lincoln Park, giveaways, limited-edition merchandise offerings and appearances by current and former Galaxy players along with soccer clinics.
Long Beach will not have an official FIFA Fan Zone because the city withdrew its bid following a series of talks with organizers. That means the city’s events this June will not feature FIFA’s logo or the term “World Cup Fan Zone. ” They will be able to show live games through the partnership with Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy.
Long Beach, in collaboration with LA Galaxy, will host a series of free watch parties in downtown Long Beach for the early stages of the FIFA World Cup this summer. Starting June 12, the city will begin holding live match viewings along with various events that will include two free soccer clinics at Lincoln Park, giveaways, limited-edition merchandise offerings and appearances by current and former Galaxy players along with soccer clinics.
An event map is still being finalized, but the games will be shown on a big screen set up along Pine Avenue, said city spokesperson Laath Martin. LA Galaxy will host free soccer clinics at Lincoln Park on June 12 and June 19 for children aged 6 to 14.
You can find more information and register for the clinics Traffic on Pine Avenue will be closed between Broadway and Third Street from June 12-27, while Broadway between Pine and Pacific avenues will be shut down only on the seven event days. That means the city’s events this June will not feature FIFA’s logo or the term “World Cup Fan Zone. ”Nereida MorenoQueer Mercado started as a monthly pop-up event at the East L.A.
Civic Center in the summer of 2021. Now, the community marketplace is launching a new residency at the historic Olvera Street plaza in downtown L.A. Its founder, Diana Diaz, says the goal is to promote culture and inclusivity, and to empower marginalized communities in the area. Diaz is a handbag designer and high school counselor based out of East L.A.
She’s been vending with her family since she was a young girl and started a community marketplace called the Goddess Mercado back in 2021 to reconnect with friends and other local vendors after the pandemic. One of her students gave her the idea to create a similar space for the queer community. Diaz has her own kiosk at Olvera Street and says foot traffic has been down in recent months, in part due to fears of immigration raids.
But she said the event is a chance to create a more inclusive space and to reflect more of the diverse, cultural fabric that exists within Los Angeles. Queer Mercado started as a monthly pop-up event at the East L.A. Civic Center in the summer of 2021. Now, the community marketplace is launching a new residency at the historic Olvera Street plaza in downtown L.A.
The event will feature local queer-owned businesses, makeup tutorials, live artist paintings, drag performers and a fashion show. Queer Mercado's founder, Diana Diaz, said the goal is to promote culture and inclusivity, and to empower marginalized communities in the area. You're gonna see a lot of culture, fashion, a wide range of ages and genders, and performers that really reflect the landscape of LA,” she said. Diaz is a handbag designer and high school counselor based out of East L.A.
She’s been vending with her family since she was a young girl and started a community marketplace called the Goddess Mercado in 2021 to reconnect with friends and other local vendors after the pandemic. One of her students gave her the idea to create a similar space for the queer community.
“He told me, 'Miss, this is great that you're doing for the women of East L.A. , but what about the queer community? I'm tired of going to the West Side. I don't fit in,'” she said.
Diaz has her own kiosk at Olvera Street and said foot traffic has been down in recent months, in part due to fears of immigration raids. But she said the event is a chance to create a more inclusive space and to reflect more of the diverse, cultural fabric that exists within Los Angeles.
“ It's full of history and love and positivity, and it gave birth to a lot of businesses and movements,” Diaz said. “And it's a site of celebrations and rituals and protests. ”Stop by Juanita's Cafe, and ask for the “queer combo. ” It’s not on the menu, but you’ll get a free drink.
Longtime"Big Bang" organizer John Morris and the Queen Mary got approval for their 4th of July firework shows from the state’s Water Resources Control Board. But, unlike the Queen Mary, Morris also had to convince the Coastal Commission. : For years, Coastal Commission staff routinely approved Morris’ permit, but after complaints and a lawsuit alleging the fireworks polluted the water and harmed migratory birds nesting nearby, the statewide board has given him more scrutiny.
In 2024, the Coastal Commission gave him an ultimatum: It was time to switch to drones, which they viewed as more environmentally friendly and less disorienting to the birds. They warned in 2025 that it was the last time they would approve fireworks over Alamitos Bay.
For America’s 250th birthday this July 4, the Queen Mary in Long Beach is promising to pull out all the stops: a WW II aircraft flyover, buffet and music, all capped off with an extra-long fireworks display — 20 minutes of pyrotechnics exploding over the bay. For America’s 250th birthday this July 4, the Queen Mary in Long Beach is promising to pull out all the stops: a WW II aircraft flyover, buffet and music, all capped off with an extra-long fireworks display — 20 minutes of pyrotechnics exploding over the bay.
But just a few miles down the coast, the city’s Alamitos Bay will be quiet over the holiday weekend. The July 3 Big Bang on the Bay couldn’t get the OK from state regulators, so longtime organizer John MorrisBoth Morris and the Queen Mary got approval for their shows from the state’s Water Resources Control Board, which found no tangible rise in water pollution after previous shows, water board spokesperson Ailene Voisin said.
But, unlike the Queen Mary, Morris also had to convince the Coastal Commission. That process has gotten significantly more difficult.alleging the fireworks polluted the water and harmed migratory birds nesting nearby, the statewide board has given him more scrutiny. In 2024, the Coastal Commission gave him an ultimatum: It was time to switch to drones, which they viewed as more environmentally friendly and less disorienting to the birds.
They warned in 2025 that it wasThe commission has ceded its authority over the Queen Mary show to the Port of Long Beach, where it’s permanently docked, according to commission spokesperson Joshua Smith. Because the Coastal Commission previously approved a master plan from the port that defines what’s allowed in its boundaries and what isn’t, the commission doesn’t weigh in on individual events. Anything with potential environmental impacts falls under the port’s scope, Smith said.
The port, apparently, is fine with the fireworks. Spokesperson Lee Peterson said he could find no record of the port requiring any permitting or exercising any oversight of the Queen Mary show. So with another fireworks show happening in Long Beach as well as others up and down the California coast, Morris tried to charge ahead with his show — even with the Coastal Commission’s previous warning. He asked for one more approval.
He told commissioners there was no safe way to launch the drones. Plus, he said, they were prohibitively expensive. John Morris, owner of the Boathouse on the Bay restaurant and longtime Big Bang on the Bay organizer in Long Beach on May 14, 2025. Commissioners were unmoved.
They denied his request for fireworks, saying he’d had ample warning, and Morris canceled his event altogether.that he chose that route. They offered a compromise. They’d be willing to consider a fireworks show at an alternate location — just not over Alamitos Bay and its nesting birds. Moving the show would ruin his chances of getting funding from residents whose homes ring the bay.
They’ve gotten used to having the fireworks essentially in their backyards and have given generously to support the show in the past. Additional proceeds, nearly $2 million since the Big Bang began in 2011, go to charity, according to Morris. — the so-called Fireworks for Freedom Act — will garner enough votes to pass the legislature. It was introduced April 30 by Rep.
Ken Calvert and would pave the way for any fireworks display “by temporarily suspending Federal and State regulatory restrictions” for this year only. If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less. Fireworks explode as fans watch during a show inside SoFi Stadium before a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer match Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Inglewood.
The city currently only allows fireworks as part of permitted displays. An initiative to make some firework use and sales legal again in the city of Inglewood is on the ballot for the June 2 special election. The new ballot initiative comes after the Inglewood City Council voted to ban fireworks outside of permitted shows in February 2025, delighting residents who worried about noise and safety, but frustrating some local nonprofits who rely on annual firework sales as a fundraiser.
Dennis Revell, a consultant for TNT Fireworks who drafted the initiative, said the new proposed ordinance would not be a return to the fireworks regulations Inglewood had in place before 2025.
“We felt that there were many deficiencies in the prior ordinance,” Revell said. “ is much more dynamic and should provide a level of confidence in public safety. ” The new rules would make it easier for the city to issue citations, Revell said, and expand who could be found responsible for violations. It would also put in place a mechanism for the city to recoup some of the costs of enforcement.
Hardly a year after the city of Inglewood’s firework sales ban went into effect, city residents could vote to overturn it. The initiative that will be in the June 2 special election looks to make firework use and sales legal again in the city. Mail-in voting has already begun.
The new ballot initiative comes after the Inglewood City Council voted to ban fireworks outside of permitted shows in February 2025, delighting residents who worried about noise and safety, but frustrating some local nonprofits who rely on annual firework sales as a fundraiser.
“They had just as much fireworks as they always had,” said D’Joy Robinson, whose family counseling nonprofit, All Families Matter, sold fireworks for several years before the ban. Inglewood resident Mari Morales Rodriguez said she doesn’t mind small fireworks, but that she’s watched local fireworks get larger and more dangerous over the years. She wants to see the fireworks ban continue.
Fireworks manufacturers TNT Fireworks and Phantom Fireworks are the ballot initiative’s biggest backers — drafting the initiative and, according to state documents, funding a campaign in support.
“We have received complaints for at least 12 years,” Butts said. “The council took action to outlaw them. ”Here’s what would change under the proposed fireworks ordinance Dennis Revell, a consultant for TNT Fireworks who drafted the initiative, said the new proposed ordinance would not be a return to the fireworks regulations Inglewood had in place before 2025.
“We felt that there were many deficiencies in the prior ordinance,” Revell said. “ is much more dynamic and should provide a level of confidence in public safety. ” The new rules would make it easier for the city to issue citations, Revell said, and expand who could be found responsible for violations. It would also put in place a mechanism for the city to recoup some of the costs of enforcement.
Revell, who said he has drafted hundreds of local fireworks ordinances, said the proposed Inglewood rules are inspired by others put in place across California.
“The trend is to take this seriously and protect the city but still allow for responsible people to celebrate the Fourth of July with fireworks,” Revell said. Making fireworks legal again would allow nonprofits like All Families Matter to resume their annual firework sales. Robinson, the administrator of the nonprofit, said without the extra $5,000 boost the fireworks stand could provide each year, the nonprofit has had to trim the free family counseling services it provides.
“We had families that came back year after year,” she said. Revell argued that legalizing “safe and sane” fireworks would also help keep more dangerous, illegal fireworks off the street. Morales Rodriguez, the Inglewood local, said legalizing some fireworks would make it difficult to report and control illegal variants because firework users could simply claim they’d bought their own fireworks at a permitted stand.
California gubernatorial candidates during a debate hosted by CBS Bay Area and the San Francisco Examiner in San Francisco on May 14, 2026. Seven California gubernatorial candidates faced off Thursday night in the final debate before California's primary. Republicans begged a liberal state to vote differently, Matt Mahan sought to place himself in the middle and everyone came for Xavier Becerra.
: Opponents piled on with anything that might stick, from his acceptance of a campaign contribution from Chevron to his failure to answer questions at a housing forum last week to fraud in the hospice system while Becerra was secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Biden administration. But the Becerra weakness du jour was the guilty plea earlier Thursday of his former political strategist Dana Williamson, who admitted to conspiring with Becerra’s former longtime chief of staff to steal money from his campaign account.
Even before the moderators asked the candidates who else they would support if they didn’t make it onto the November ballot, the two Republicans were already practically high-fiving. In previous debates, interviews and TV ads the two have attacked each other, but by Thursday they were often referencing each other’s points.
“Only two of us actually represent real change,” Hilton said of himself and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. When you're leading the polls, everyone takes their shots. Xavier Becerra found that out Thursday night as six gubernatorial rivals ganged up on him in the final debate before California's primary — attacking everything from his ethics to his ideas to his choice of political consultants.
It was their last chance to make a personal appeal to California voters ahead of the June 2 election to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom. Opponents piled on with anything that might stick, from his acceptance of a campaign contribution from Chevron to his failure to answer questions at ato fraud in the hospice system while Becerra was secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Biden administration.
Opponents were unified in their skepticism about Becerra’s repeated claims that he wasn’t involved. Despite the plea deal that did not accuse him, Democratic rival Katie Porter went so far as to say he could still be implicated in the case. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, a moderate backed by tech leaders, went out of his way to call Becerra the “embodiment of the status quo” in Sacramento.
Several candidates attacked Becerra over his lack of a funding plan for his ideas, including Porter, who pulled out a makeshift whiteboardThe former health secretary took a page out of Newsom’s book, pointing to an idea to restrict some corporations’ use of tax credits.over sexual assault allegations, offering Democratic voters a familiar face who’s held public office for decades and who frequently talks about fighting with Trump. Republican frontrunner Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host, quickly jumped in to correct him: Hilton is leading, per some polls.
But Becerra used the moment to try to shut the door on the Williamson scandal, touting a statement from the prosecutor’s office Thursday saying that “no candidate running for governor has been implicated” in the case.when a reporter asked if he was sure Williamson couldn’t connect him to the case.
Asked Thursday if he could guarantee the case wouldn’t be a “distraction” if he advances to November, he responded, “I can. ”San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan has made a name for himself as a moderate Democrat willing to take on his own party.
That has included his early support for Prop. 36, the tough-on-crime ballot measure that Newsom and the party opposed in 2024 but which voters passed overwhelmingly, and his campaign proposals to tie pay to performance in the public sector that rankle organized labor. But on TV in a state where Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans and Trump is anathema, he sought to clarify that he’s not a Republican.
Mahan appeared to relish his spats with Hilton, taking care to point out Hilton’s association with Trump and his former employer, Fox News. Mahan criticized the Republican’s plan to expand California suburbs by building on undeveloped land as likely to drive up carbon emissions, and attacked him over rumors he was pushed out of British Prime Minister David Cameron’s government.
Mahan was the only Democrat not to say on stage that he would support any of the other Democrats if they advanced to November and he didn’t, instead naming fellow moderate former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, because “mayors get things done. ” Later, he wavered, first saying “it depends” when asked if he would support another Democrat, clarifying, “I would vote for a fellow Democrat against a Republican.
”When moderators asked a lightning-round “yes or no” question on whether the state should more strictly regulate artificial intelligence chatbots that interact with children, the candidates appeared united across party lines. Democrats in the state Capitol this year are already pursuing stricter chatbot regulations after advocates decried a law Newsom signed last year as too weak.
Steyer promoted In contrast, Hilton hesitated, then refused to answer yes or no, saying “it’s not as simple as that” and expressing a desire not to over-regulate the industry.
“It’s not the right way to discuss a very important and serious issue,” he said as opponents and moderators tried to pin him down. “It causes problems that are unintended. ” Hilton moved to California from the United Kingdom to Silicon Valley in 2012 to join his wife Rachel Whetstone, a prominent tech executive.
Even before the moderators asked the candidates who else they would support if they didn’t make it onto the November ballot, the two Republicans were already practically high-fiving. With numerous Democrats competing for liberal support, Hilton has consistently led in the polls.
While he and Bianco have previously declined to specifically endorse the other, the only realistic way for a Republican to win in blue California is for both Republicans to come in Nos. 1 and 2 and shut Democrats out of the general election.
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