With millions expected to attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Umovity Software by PTV Group is highlighting how multimodal simulation and real-time mobility intelligence can help cities improve safety, manage crowds, and optimise transport operations.
More than five million fans are expected to attend the 104 matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup across Canada, Mexico, and the US. For host cities and venue operators, mega events like this put safety, mobility, and reputation on the line.
“Major events create highly dynamic transport situations. Ensuring the safe and efficient movement of tens of thousands of people inside and outside the venue is a classic use case for multimodal simulation,” says Hilary Aylesworth, chief product and technology officer at Umovity Software by PTV Group.
On match day, visitors arrive by car, rail, metro, bus, bicycle, and on foot. Drop-off points become busy, metro stations experience sudden surges of passengers, and crowds gather at security checkpoints, food stands, and entrances. Pedestrians interact with vehicles, and different transport modes influence one another in real time.
Traditional planning methods often struggle to capture these complex interactions. Simulation provides planners with a virtual testing ground to visualise flows, assess alternative designs, identify bottlenecks, and evaluate operational strategies before an event takes place.
Simulating the complete fan journey
“With PTV Vissim and PTV Viswalk, we can model vehicles, pedestrians, trains, and cyclists as individual agents with realistic movement behavior,” explains Aylesworth. “This multimodal approach allows planners to simulate the entire visitor journey, from arrival at a parking lot or subway station to finding a seat inside the stadium. You could call it a ‘sofa-to-seat’ approach.”
In Stockholm, Sweden, consultants at WSP simulated how up to 45,000 visitors would move through an arena district during major events, analysing crowd flows between venues, security checkpoints, pedestrian bridges, metro stations, and surrounding public spaces. The study identified bottlenecks at screening zones and transit access points, leading to recommendations for additional screening capacity, improved pedestrian infrastructure, and increased metro frequency.
“One of the key insights from the simulation was that we needed additional security screening zones during events to prevent queues from building up,” said Frida Aspnäs, transport consultant at WSP, in a recent webinar.
Using data to improve crowd safety
Simulation does not only enhance the visitor experience; it can also save lives. At the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, PTV Viswalk helped improve safety in several stadiums where evacuation times exceeded international standards. Crowd simulations helped planners identify risks, evaluate safety measures, and test practical solutions to achieve the required evacuation time.
At the iconic Maracanã Stadium, simulations revealed that exit ramps were too narrow to accommodate expected crowd volumes. Widening the ramps significantly improved pedestrian flow and evacuation performance.
From scenario planning to real-time management
While simulation plays a critical role in preparing for mega events, event-day operations require continuous visibility into the transport network. Solutions such as PTV Flows complement simulation by providing real-time traffic monitoring and predictive analytics. By combining live and historical mobility data, public authorities and traffic management centers can detect unusual traffic patterns, anticipate congestion hotspots, and identify disruptions before they significantly impact travelers.
These insights enable operators to take proactive measures such as adjusting signal timings, implementing traffic management plans, prioritizing public transport, or informing travelers about alternative routes.
Together, simulation and real-time mobility intelligence help cities move from planning for potential scenarios to actively managing evolving conditions throughout the event.
As the world prepares for the largest FIFA World Cup in history, one thing is clear: successful events increasingly depend on understanding not just how crowds move, but how entire mobility systems perform under pressure.
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