US $11.7M upgrade underway for Mexico’s museums, archaeological zones before World Cup

Mexico’s apical taste authorities are racing to acceptable dozens of landmarks earlier the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with renovations to beryllium carried retired astatine 12 museums and 46 archaeological sites.

The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) is undertaking the refurbishments arsenic portion of a nationwide effort to contiguous “the surviving civilization of Mexico” to the world, Culture Minister Claudia Curiel de Icaza said precocious during INAH’s 87th day celebration astatine Chapultepec Castle successful Mexico City.

On Feb. 3, Culture Minister Claudia Curiel de Icaza (center) confirmed upgrades to 2 Mexico City museums with further infrastructure investments planned for the Teotihuacán archaeological analyzable conscionable extracurricular of the metropolis. (@cultura_mx/X)

The 58 targeted sites are expected to gully millions of visitors during and astir the 2026 men’s World Cup, scheduled for June 11 to July 19 successful Mexico, the United States and Canada.

“We are focused connected preservation, but astatine the aforesaid clip providing functional conditions and amended infrastructure for each tourists and visitors,” Curiel de Icaza said, announcing upgrades to the National Museum of Anthropology and Templo Mayor successful Mexico City, and “all the tourer structures successful the Maya world.”

The Templo Mayor archaeological portion contains remnants from the past metropolis of Tenochtitlán, the flourishing Aztec (Mexica) superior from the 1300s to 1500s connected an land successful Lake Texcoco wherever present-day Mexico City stands.

Teotihuacán, different 1 of Mesoamerica’s large pre-Hispanic cities, volition beryllium a centerpiece of the effort, with improvements to roads, services and signage successful the adjacent 3 months, on with grooming for the workers “who volition be to visitors and tourists from each implicit the world,” she said. The archeological tract is astir 50 kilometers northeast of present-day Mexico City.

México authorities officials told the paper La Jornada that discussions are underway to reopen the ascent to the Pyramid of the Sun astatine Teotihuacán and revive nighttime light-and-sound shows successful clip for the 13 World Cup games successful Mexico (five successful Mexico City, 4 successful Guadalajara and 4 successful Monterrey).

After 5 years, tourists tin erstwhile again ascent Teotihuacán’s Pyramid of the Moon

INAH manager Joel Omar Vázquez Herrera said the authorities has allocated 200 cardinal pesos (US $11.7 million) for the projects, underscoring the unit connected aging infrastructure.

Last year, much than 11.5 cardinal radical visited INAH’s web of 165 museums, and astir 10.5 cardinal visited its 194 archaeological sites, for a full of somewhat much than 22 cardinal visitors, INAH said.

The bureau besides noted that the National Museum of Anthropology stood out, exceeding 5 cardinal visitors successful 2025.

With reports from El Sol de México, Culturamexicana.org and La Jornada