Turns out you did not need a Mercedes-Benz Stadium ticket to feel the World Cup this summer. You needed a lawn chair and a spot on Decatur Square.
Decatur WatchFest has pulled in roughly 140,000 people over its first month, and the city says the biggest stretch is still ahead. For the next 10 days, three giant screens on the Square will carry the World Cup quarterfinals, semifinals, the third-place playoff, and the final. Watching is completely free and no ticket is required.
The festival is not just soccer. Organizers have booked seven concerts to run alongside the matches, including a set from the Indigo Girls, the Decatur-rooted folk duo. If the Square fills up or a specific game is not on the big screens, the city has lined up official backup viewing spots nearby.
For a small city that leans hard into its downtown, drawing six figures of visitors to a free public event is exactly the kind of thing Decatur likes to be known for.