‘I’m melting’: Soccer fans brave the heat at FIFA Fan Fest on July 4

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Soccer fans flocked to the FIFA Fan Fest at Lemon Hill on Saturday despite the dangerous heat.

Philadelphia is under an extreme heat warning, with Saturday’s temperature expected to reach around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and the heat index, a measure of how hot the air feels, expected to soar as high as 106 degrees.

“It is hot,” Brian Keller said as he drank water from a paper cup and stood in front of a giant misting fan. “We flew out from St. Louis on a whim to come see the game, not thinking about the temperatures, just thinking about the experience. But this fan is providing me so much relief right now.”

Keller said watching the World Cup has brought him and his wife “hope” and inspired them.

“The humanity around the World Cup has really been nice, and so we just wanted to be a part of that, so we’re here,” he said.

An analysis by NPR found that Philadelphia is one of the highest-risk World Cup host cities for dangerous heat and humidity. The match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia Saturday evening is expected to be particularly sweltering, since the Lincoln Financial Field does not have a roof or cooling.

Climate change made the hot temperatures on July 4 in the Philadelphia region four to five times more likely, according to the research nonprofit Climate Central.

FIFA put up shade tents, water bottle filling stations and water misters to help fans stay cool at Lemon Hill. Medic tents staffed by Penn Medicine and the Philadelphia Fire Department prepared for the potential of heat illnesses, with cold compresses, drinks with electrolytes and an ice bath tub. FIFA also shortened the hours that Fan Fest is open Saturday, which will now close at the conclusion of the 1 p.m. match. Saturday evening’s match in Philadelphia will not be broadcast at Lemon Hill.

“There’s a lot of shade out here at Lemon Hill too, so you can go under the trees and you can sort of set up camp and sit still under the trees,” said Michael DelBene, executive producer of the Fan Fest. “But we’re constantly watching the weather and we’re making sure that we can continue to deliver Fan Fest safely. These temperatures today are hot, but they don’t exceed any thresholds in the city, so we’re able to keep going.”

Medic tents staffed by Penn Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Fire Department prepared for the potential of heat illnesses, with cold compresses and an ice bath tub. Philadelphia Fire Department Executive Chief Dan McCarty said medics helped around 10 people at Fan Fest on Saturday who were experiencing symptoms of heat illness, which include weakness, dizziness, headache and confusion.

Earlier this week, roughly 100 people were treated for heat illness along the route of Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014 steam locomotive in Berks County.

LaMar Price of New Jersey attended the Fan Fest with his children to celebrate his birthday Saturday. The family filled up water bottles at a hydration tent early in the day. Price said he’s used to dealing with heat because of his work as a mailman.

“I know how this goes,” he said. “We try to stay hydrated, make our rounds, find the shade and make sure we can keep going so we don’t miss any events.”

Maia Pappadakis and Dina Memar Moshrefi travelled from State College, Pennsylvania, to Philadelphia to watch Saturday’s games.

“We’ve just been watching as many games as our schedules allowed,” Memar Moshrefi said. “We are both very crazy about soccer.”

The two friends had differing views on the heat as they waited in a long line for Fan Band charm bracelets.

“I’m from a desert,” Memar Moshrefi said. “I’m cool with this heat and more. … I can go 30 degrees above this, and then it would be hot.”

“I’m cooking,” Pappadakis said. “I’m melting, dying, all of that.”