SEA Beacons

When the FIFA World Cup came to Seattle, the city wanted to share the limelight. Instead of covering its streets with FIFA logos, more than 350 handmade neon whale tails appeared in storefronts and gathering places across the region, leading visitors from the waterfront into Seattle’s neighborhoods.

Inspired by Shogo Ota’s Host City Poster, the SEA Beacons became the most recognizable marker of the Unity Loop and a distinctly Seattle welcome to the world.

The SEA Beacons were designed and handcrafted by Western Neon in SODO. Their shape grew from the Host City Poster and conversations with local Indigenous communities, with a cedar branch motif incorporated into the waves beneath the whale tail.

Nearly all were donated to local small businesses, nonprofits and cultural organizations, turning what could have been temporary tournament signage into hundreds of permanent pieces of locally made art.

Community organizations helped place Beacons with locally and independently owned businesses across Pioneer Square, Chinatown-International District, Capitol Hill, the Central District and beyond. For 50 of them, SeattleFWC26 also produced short films introducing the people and stories behind the glowing whale tail in the window.

The World Cup ended. The SEA Beacons did not.

Future major events will add their own versions to the network, continuing an invitation that began in 2026: Follow the Flukes and see where they take you.