“The FIFA 2026 Vancouver maps have rebranded the DTES as ‘Hastings Crossing’ and say it includes a ‘Mexican Barrio.’ For reference, that is where I tell tourists not to go.”
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Large new signage guiding World Cup visitors through Vancouver have triggered a debate over how the Downtown Eastside is being presented to an international audience.
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The signs encourage visitors to “Explore Vancouver” and feature maps that divide downtown and surrounding areas into colour-coded zones. Short bullet-points are used to describe each area.
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Gastown is described as a national historic site with boutiques and live entertainment. Chinatown is noted for its authentic dining, tea culture and speakeasy vibes. Yaletown has lively patios and boutique shopping.
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The Downtown Eastside isn’t featured on the signs. Instead, it’s captured in an area called Hastings Crossing — a business zone that encompasses parts of downtown, Gastown and the Downtown Eastside. The area’s attributes, according to the signs, include art, music and comedy, local dining, a Mexican barrio, and historic and cultural landmarks.
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Photographer and writer Katherine Arnett, who has spent two decades working in Vancouver, including in the Downtown Eastside, posted about the signs on the social media platform Threads, drawing more than 23,000 views and dozens of responses.
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“The FIFA 2026 Vancouver maps have rebranded the DTES as ‘Hastings Crossing’ and say it includes a ‘Mexican Barrio,’” she wrote. “For reference, that is where I tell tourists not to go.”
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Her post included a Wikipedia entry that describes the area as having “disproportionately high levels of drug use, homelessness, poverty, crime, mental illness and sex work.”
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“Just like we did with the Olympics, the city’s trying to sweep the issues of the underserved community in the Downtown Eastside under the rug, like some dirty secret,” she told Postmedia. “I think if we truly want to be a world-class city, we should treat our citizens in a way that makes us unafraid of that spotlight.”
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Arnett said she wants tourists to go in with their eyes open and respect the people who are living in the Downtown Eastside, which is “very much the real life of Vancouver.”
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The Vancouver Host Committee did not respond to a request for comment about the signs and the language used to describe the neighbourhoods.
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The committee’s online Know Before You Go guide acknowledges that B.C. Place Stadium is located in a downtown urban setting with “diverse lived realities.” It says the Downtown Eastside “continues to navigate complex social and health challenges related to poverty, mental health, and substance use, alongside sustained community led efforts focused on care, resilience, and opportunity.”
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Destination Vancouver CEO Royce Chwin declined to comment about the signs. At a news conference last month, he said visitors are increasingly raising concerns about personal safety, street disorder and aggressive behaviour downtown.
