📌 Update, September 5, 2026
The last day to see the ball is Sunday, September 7. Deinstallation of the wrap begins Tuesday, September 8. The FIFA Museum exhibition Soccer & Technology inside the building also closes on September 7. In other words, this weekend (September 5–7) is the last weekend to see it in person. Science World has said a separate announcement is coming about what happens to the panels after they come down.
If you’ve walked past Science World lately, you might have done a double take. The iconic geodesic dome along False Creek has been completely wrapped in a giant soccer ball — and it looks absolutely stunning.
📌 August 2026 update
The World Cup wrapped up on July 19. The soccer ball dome, however, is still up. Science World pushed back the teardown after the response it got, and the panels now stay in place until September 7. If you haven’t seen it yet, this is the last window.
The Beautiful Dome: Science World Becomes the Official Match Ball
The installation is called the “Beautiful Dome” — a nod to soccer’s nickname “the beautiful game.” It’s a full-scale recreation of the Adidas Trionda, the official match ball for FIFA World Cup 2026™.
| Dome diameter | 40 metres (equivalent to a 13-storey building) |
| Panels installed | 131 hexagonal panels, each custom-shaped and sized |
| Installation time | ~4 weeks (early May to early June 2026) |
| Installation method | Rope-access technicians attached each panel by hand |
| Completed | About a week before the tournament kicked off |
Trionda means “three waves” in Spanish — a nod to the three co-host nations: Canada, USA, and Mexico. It was the first World Cup ever hosted jointly by three countries, and the ball design captured that.
The teardown got pushed back — you have until September 7
The original plan was to strip the panels as soon as the tournament ended. The response ran well past what anyone expected — the dome turned up on international broadcasts all month and became one of the defining images of Vancouver during the World Cup. So Science World moved the teardown to September 7.
That date isn’t arbitrary. It’s the closing day of the FIFA Museum exhibition running inside the building, and keeping the exterior up for the length of the exhibition made sense. Rob Hollingsworth, Science World’s senior director of commercial sales and partnerships, called the transformation “no small engineering feat” — not the kind of thing you undo casually.
Worth knowing: seeing the dome costs nothing. It’s the outside of the building, so no admission ticket is required. If you’re just there for photos, you don’t pay a cent.
Soccer & Technology from the FIFA Museum — Inside Science World
The transformation isn’t just on the outside. Science World is also hosting a special exhibition brought directly from the FIFA Museum in Zurich — its North American premiere. It goes behind the scenes of the modern game: VAR systems, player data analytics, stadium lighting and broadcast technology, and a cross-section of the Trionda ball itself.
| Exhibition | Soccer & Technology from the FIFA Museum |
| Dates | May 15 – September 7, 2026 |
| Location | Science World at TELUS World of Science, Vancouver |
| Note | Closes the same day the dome comes down — see both in one trip |
All 7 Vancouver matches — how they finished
BC Place hosted 7 matches between June 13 and July 7 — one of the higher allocations among the 16 host cities across North America. Both of Canada’s home group-stage games were played here.
- June 18 · Canada 6-0 Qatar — Canada’s biggest World Cup win ever, watched by a record 11.7 million unique viewers in Canada.
- June 24 · Switzerland 2-1 Canada — goalless at half time, then two goals in an 11-minute spell (Vargas, Manzambi) handed Switzerland top spot in Group B.
- Australia, New Zealand, Egypt and Belgium also played group-stage matches here, plus one Round of 32 and one Round of 16 fixture.
Canada went through as runners-up to reach the last 32 — their best World Cup campaign ever — before going out to Morocco in the Round of 16. All three co-hosts (Canada, Mexico, USA) were eliminated at that same stage.
On attendance, FIFA recorded full houses of 52,497 for each of the first five matches, with Vancouver clearing 367,000 spectators in total.
Spain won the tournament, beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time in the July 19 final, with substitute Ferran Torres scoring the winner. It’s Spain’s second World Cup title.
Visiting now — the practical details
| Admission (2026) | Adult $35.95 · Student/Senior/Youth $30.95 · Child (3–12) $26.95 · Under 3 free |
| Hours | 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM daily |
| SkyTrain | Main Street–Science World Station (Expo Line), right outside |
| Time needed | 3–4 hours including the feature exhibition |
| OMNIMAX | $7–10 add-on |
| Seeing the dome | Free — it’s the exterior, no ticket needed |
The 20% match-day discount no longer applies, since there are no more match days. What you get instead is far fewer people. During the tournament you queued to get a clean photo; on a weekday morning now it’s quiet.
Photographing the dome without fighting the crowd
The dome is a mirrored geodesic sphere, which means it photographs completely differently depending on where you stand.
- For the whole shape — the seawall on the far side of the water. You get the full sphere, its reflection, and the downtown skyline behind it.
- For panel detail — directly underneath. The geometry of the hexagons reads beautifully, but you lose the ball shape entirely.
- For both — walk the loop. The perspective shifts noticeably every fifty metres or so, and the least crowded angles are usually the ones facing away from the main entrance.
- Timing — golden hour, around sunset. Vancouver in August stays light past 8 PM, so after work still works.
Making a half day of it
Science World on its own is a thin excuse for a trip downtown. Everything around it is walkable.
- BC Place is a 15-minute walk — the route follows False Creek, so the walk is the point as much as the destination. Head up Quebec St and you get the dome and the stadium in one go.
- Food — options inside are limited and get picked over quickly on busy days. Five to ten minutes on foot toward Main Street or Chinatown is a significant upgrade.
- With kids — the ground floor hands-on galleries and the outdoor area hold their attention longest. If you’re an adult here specifically for the exhibition, go at opening, see that first, then work outward.
- What to wear — Vancouver summer is warm by mid-afternoon and cool by the water in the evening. Bring a layer.
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