It begins.

Twenty four hours from now, bus and streetcar drivers will suit up, law enforcement and security guards will check perimeters, technical personnel at the downtown Fan Festival will check the sound system. Workers all around the city will begin to trickle into businesses, wondering how the day will go.

Will the temporary new bus system work? Anyone’s guess.

Will businesses make any money? Remains to be seen.

Will people really come? Maybe.

Will it rain? Probably at least once.

All that preparation for months and months. All that expense. All the unknowns. Will it be worth it? No one knows. At least not yet.

The one thing that’s certain is that it is here. The time has come. The World Cup is opening, and for Johnson County and Kansas City, it’s showtime.

Your guide to World Cup bus routes

Here’s every bus route JoCo residents need to know about for the World Cup

Four national teams – the Netherlands, Argentina, England and Algeria – will headquarter and train in the Kansas City metro for at least part of the 26 days the tournament will be in Kansas City. England will be the only one staying in a Johnson County hotel.

Six matches will take place at Arrowhead (renamed Kansas City Stadium for the duration of the tournament). There will be countless watch parties, public and private. To get fans to all of this and still keep regular traffic moving, public transit and elected officials have come up with a comprehensive but temporary system of bus routes centered on World Cup events to get people where they need to go.

This is happening just as Kansas City is bringing back bus fares, which haven’t been seen since COVID. Not only that, but the new fare payment system is cashless, another big change since the pandemic.

The city’s regular, non-World Cup bus routes started charging fares June 1, but there were enough problems that KCATA officials decided to set a grace period for the transition. So until June 15, those regular routes will be free.

The special World Cup routes, however, still need a fare. Johnson County has its own system, but it connects with a larger one called ConnectKC26. Details on routes and fares here.

Your guide to the new airport shuttle

What you need to know before riding Johnson County’s new free airport shuttle

Host city organizers have predicted a surge of visitors for the tournament, which is said to be the biggest sports event worldwide every four years. The Kansas City organizing group, KC2026, has said the city could expect 650,000 visitors over the course of the tournament, although some studies have put that number in question.

But no matter how many are coming, at least some of them will wind up staying in Johnson County, and that means they’ll need a ride to and from the airport.

It’s about a 30-mile drive to Kansas City International from most parts of Johnson County, and there is no light rail. But as of this month, there’s a temporary bus shuttle leaving from two stops in Overland Park and Lenexa and it’s free.

The airport drop-and-ride taking off from the Overland Park Convention Center and Lenexa City Center doesn’t provide overnight parking spaces. The Post looked in on how things were going as the service geared up from its first day of operations, June 1.

Your guide to JoCo watch parties

Giant screens, food trucks, free admission — Where to find World Cup watch parties in Johnson County

The World Cup has long been known for its month-long festival atmosphere, with crowds out watching and cheering not only at the stadium but also in front of giant LED screens in parks, squares and plazas and at bars and restaurants.

That energy has brought excitement to some county residents who look forward to the positivity that goes with cheering alongside hundreds of others. But the alcohol involved has inspired caution among many of Johnson County’s city governments. Despite a state law that allows alcohol sales from 6 a.m. to 5 a.m. during the tournament, most of those cities have opted out of allowing the longer hours.

There will be plenty of opportunities to party, though. Most of them come with food vendors and family activities, too. The county is holding watch parties at Theater In The Park, and several other cities will have their own versions. Add to that the countless parties at pubs and restaurants, and the festivities will be almost limitless.

Your guide to getting to FIFA Fan Fest

What Johnson County soccer fans need to know before heading to KC’s FIFA Fan Fest

The king of the fan watch parties will be on the grounds of the World War I Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri. There, KC2026 has set up not only a huge viewing screen but a stage for musical acts, many of them local.

There will also be food from local vendors celebrating the dishes Kansas City is known for as well as food celebrating other countries.

Admission is free with a ticket, but capacity is limited. There are also some perks for people who pay.

The downtown Fan Festival serves as a World Cup hub for bus service throughout the region and connects with Johnson County’s local circulator route.

More on how to do the Fan Fest from Johnson County here.

Your guide to still using Meadowbrook Park

England’s World Cup team is coming to Meadowbrook Park. What stays open and what closes?

Prairie Villagers who live in the vicinity of Meadowbrook Park have perhaps the best chance of a soccer star sighting. England’s international team is staying at the Inn at Meadowbrook while players train at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri.

The team is expected to arrive on June 13, but opportunities to see them are limited because they will have to leave again for their group stage games in Dallas, Boston and New York/New Jersey, beginning June 17.

Their visit will mean some restricted areas of the park, but mostly the impact will be minor. Here’s a rundown on what to expect.

Local excitement, but also anxiety

Latest headline: World Cup is coming to Johnson County. Not everyone is thrilled

With the tournament just around the corner, residents and business managers wondered what to expect. Johnson County Post readers were about evenly divided between those excited for the games and tourists and those who believe it will be a bust.

An informal poll showed many expressed anxiety about potential traffic, safety, ticket costs, public transportation and the image the region projects to the rest of the world.

For businesses, the algebra was complex. There were projections of a massive influx of tourists, complicated by reports that hotel bookings were not as strong as expected. That caused doubt about the accuracy of those projections.

Many business owners, too, did not know what to expect, so they had difficulty deciding how much and what type of merchandise to order, and how to staff their stores.

As the tournament begins, some of those questions will begin to be answered. The first game is Thursday in Mexico City. Kansas City’s first game is June 16, a match between Algeria and Argentina, a team with arguably the most hard-core fan base in soccer.

Another fun read: Johnson County surprises Argentina superfans with World Cup tickets after epic bike journey