Vietnamese conical hats appear on IShowSpeed’s livestream

At the match between Portugal and the Democratic Republic of Congo on the evening of June 17 (Vietnam time), famous streamer IShowSpeed ​​repeatedly said loudly: “The hat is so cool.” When Vietnamese fans gave him this gift, Speed ​​immediately put it on his head and excitedly showed it off to online viewers: “Look guys, the hat is from Vietnam.” This moment quickly attracted the attention of more than 9 million people watching his livestream.

The person who gave the hat to Speed ​​was Mr. Ngo Truong Dinh, a fan from Da Nang. Mr. Dinh went to the US to watch the World Cup from June 12. Before the trip, he spent more than 7 million VND to hire an artist to paint 7 conical hats with images of soccer superstars such as Messi, Neymar, Bruno, Casemiro and Ronaldo, with the aim of spreading Vietnamese culture to the world. As for the hat with Ronaldo’s image, he purposely prepared it to give to Speed.

To be able to sit close and hand-deliver the gift to his idol, Mr. Dinh spent 2,500 USD (about 63 million VND) to buy a first-class ticket.

“I wasn’t sure if he would come or pay attention to the gift. It seemed luck was on my side,” Mr. Dinh said and expressed his pride when Vietnamese culture was accepted by the world’s leading streamer.

As a loyal fan of Ronaldo, this Da Nang tourist met Speed ​​at the World Cup 2022 and Euro 2024. At the Euro two years ago, he sat next to Speed ​​and showed off his conical hat, but at that time the male streamer only showed interest and did not react as strongly as this time.

Mr. Dinh plans to give Speed ​​a hat with a picture of the male streamer standing next to Ronaldo at the match between Portugal and Uzbekistan on June 24 if he has the opportunity to meet again. In addition to the hat given to Speed, Mr. Dinh also gave another one to Portuguese fans. The remaining amount will be given to other fans in the near future.

The male tourist will watch six matches at this year’s World Cup and is expected to return home on July 3.

It is estimated that the total cost of his trip is about 200-300 million VND including air tickets, accommodation and match tickets. Mr. Dinh said this year’s costs have increased dramatically because match ticket prices are about three times more expensive than the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Expensive ticket prices and strict visa policies from the Trump administration are also the reasons why the number of international visitors to the US to watch the 2026 World Cup is estimated to only reach 500,000 compared to FIFA’s forecast of 1.2 million.

According to data from the aviation industry, the number of flight bookings from Europe to the US decreased by an average of 3.8%, with New York City alone decreasing by 15.8%.

The decline in tourist numbers forced 80% of hotels in 11 US host cities to offer deep discounts to stimulate demand. Typically, New York Hilton Midtown reduced by nearly half to 415 USD/night; The New York Hotel Association had to cut its revenue forecast by 60% to $60 million.