Seattle mayor reverses course, activates surveillance cameras for World Cup

By Randy Diamond
The Center Square

In a reversal, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson has ordered that surveillance cameras be turned on during the FIFA World Cup Tournament.

Wilson said in a statement Friday that the decision to activate the cameras followed updated information from Seattle police and the FBI “on the current global and local threat environment.”

The first of six World Cup games begins in Seattle on June 15.

Back in March, Wilson had put a pause on the city’s surveillance camera program. She agreed to have cameras installed by Lumen Field, home of Seattle’s World Cup games, but said they would be turned on only in the event of a credible threat.

At least three city council members, including the chairman of the Public Safety Committee, Bob Kettle, said the cameras needed to be turned on because defining what a credible threat was difficult.

Wilson cited privacy concerns for her initial decision not to turn on the cameras. She said she was concerned that they could be used by federal immigration agents to conduct raids.

The dispute centers on several dozen CCTV cameras that have already been installed in and around the stadium but have remained inactive.

Kettle applauded the mayor’s announcement in his own statement.

“This difficult decision is an important one to ensure our public safety readiness ahead of our 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup matches,” he said.

Another critic of the mayor’s decision to keep the cameras off, Councilman Rob Saka, said Wilson made the right decision in turning them on.

“My hope is that we can now transition to focusing on celebrating those amazing soccer events, while keeping everyone safe,” he said in a statement.

Saka recently spoke at a Seattle City Council meeting about how unexpected terrorist events can happen, such as when he and his wife ran the Boston marathon in 2013. Saka said as he and his wife were celebrating their finish, bombs began being set off.

Councilmember Maritza Rivera, who had also previously called on the cameras to be activated, also released a statement applauding Wilson’s reversal.

“I want to thank Mayor Katie Wilson for listening to our calls to turn on the CCTV cameras around the stadium district in the SODO area,” her statement read. “It is important that we use every tool at our disposal to protect both Seattle residents and visitors. I believe this is the right and responsible thing to do.”

Kettle previously said Seattle was one of only 11 cities that would host World Cup games without using surveillance cameras.

Seattle’s small network of surveillance cameras began in 2025. Wilson, in her mayoral campaign, had expressed concerns about the surveillance cameras.

In her March announcement, she paused the expansion of the program but allowed cameras to be installed near Lumen Field, with the condition that they would only be turned on if there was a credible threat.

She said Friday that her conversation with the police and the FBI had changed her mind.

“The safety and security of residents, visitors, and fans is our highest priority, and I understand that many community members are deeply concerned about privacy, civil liberties, and the appropriate use of public safety technology,” Wilson went on in her statement.

“I share those values. While I have decided to have the cameras ready to help us quickly establish situational awareness near the stadiums if needed, we will continue honing our policies and protections to safeguard the data these videos capture.”