The Problem with Philadelphia's Event Planning
In 2026, Philadelphia will be welcoming the world as it hosts the most popular sporting event in the world, the FIFA World Cup. In many communities around the world, the return of the tournament every 4 years is associated with the community gathering in an open space, sharing food and drinks, and anxiously watching their country perform on the greatest international stage.
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We want to make this kind of event possible for communities in Philadelphia. However, the current process in Philadelphia makes it incredibly difficult and expensive to organize such events and ensure equitable access to vendors. Open space is also often needlessly limited. We list out these three issues in greater detail below.
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These processes need to be streamlined for communities to host better events in 2026 and beyond.
To see our recommendations, please scroll to the bottom of the page.
Philadelphia's Event Permitting Process
Event planning in Philadelphia is too complex and expensive.
For a community organization to host an event in a public space in Philadelphia, the entity may have to get as many as 8 different permits with several different city departments. On top of this, almost all applications need to be sent via PDF or fax, and time limitations restrict communities from holding an event within 45 days of permit approval. To visualize this problem, we have created an event planning decision tree which allows organizations to navigate the system with their event requirements and figure out which permits they need to apply for.
Vendors and Street Sales
Vendor accessibility to events is limited
Beyond it being complex to simply host events in the city, the process to have vendors at such events hosts a unique set of barriers. Vendors in Philadelphia are spatially restricted to events hosted within certain areas of the city, and if they are welcome, are not met with good access to business opportunities or operating permits. While a vendor portal does exist for the city, the portal hosts lacks several key aspects such as: appropriate availability Special Vending Licenses, accessible and far-reaching communication methods, and accessibility to the public.
Expanding Space for Celebration
Many neighborhoods lack the open space to host community events
Even if communities had all of the resources necessary to host the events they wish, the availability of space is not guaranteed. Many neighborhoods around the city have limited access to open and green spaces, meaning that they need to either shut down a street or use spaces farther away. In order to properly address the inadequate event hosting environment in the city, we need to sufficiently answer the question: “Where can we celebrate?”
Streamlining Event Planning Processes and Resources
Policies to Streamline Event Planning in Philadelphia:
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Consolidate applications into one system. Placing all relevant applications into one PDF or website walkthrough will cut down on time, confusion and hassle. Seattle has a great example of a single PDF application. L&I’s Building Permit Navigator could also be used as a template for a web-formatted permitting process.
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Solidify permit and service fees and make them publicly available. Estimating costs is an important part of making events equitable and accessible to all Philadelphia communities. Seattle’s Event Fee Estimation Tool can be used as an example.
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Shorten and streamline permit submission timeframes to allow for last-minute celebrations in the event of World Cup wins.
Source: permits.gov
