The price of a Wavin’ Flag

Akshara· Host0:00

[upbeat music] In today's episode, we'll break down two important stories. First, we'll talk about the price of a wave and flag, and then we'll talk about India's state budgets being a mixed bag. Welcome back to the Daily Brief by Zerodha, where we cut through the noise to help you understand what's actually happening in the most important stories from business and markets. I'm your host Akshara, and today is Wednesday, 17th June. Coming to the first story. It's that time of the year where we're playing iconic songs like Waka Waka or Wave and Flag. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is currently underway across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, and it's the largest tournament in the competition's history. The FIFA World Cup is the most watched sporting event on the planet. The 2022 final between Argentina and France drew a whopping 1.5 billion viewers, a fifth of the world's population. That scale also enables the World Cup to become an extraordinary money machine. Nearly a billion dollars in ticket and hospitality revenue alone flowed into FIFA's coffers that cycle. Corporate sponsors paid $1.8 billion to slap their logos across the tournament. Yet it rarely makes any economic sense for any country to take the burden of hosting the World Cup. Now, the 2026 World Cup is also the most expensive to attend. Face value ticket prices are several times higher than in Qatar, and the attorney general of New York and New Jersey