BBC Stops World Cup 2026 Coverage Due to Weather

BBC's Kelly Cates was back on TV.

The BBC had to change its World Cup coverage plans.

Kelly Cates hosted the France vs Iraq match on BBC One on June 22.

Kelly was joined by Olivier Giroud, Joe Hart, and Gael Clichy in the studio. The coverage started at 9:30pm and was supposed to end at 12:30am. But there was a delay, so the BBC made some last-minute changes. The team was ready to analyze the game, but the delay changed their plans.

It rained a lot at the stadium, and the game stopped at half-time with France leading 1-0. The players and fans got very wet.

When Kelly and the pundits started talking about the first half, the fans were told to go to a safe place because of a big thunderstorm.

The France and Iraq match was delayed.

The game was stopped for at least an hour. The BBC did not plan for this, so they had to change their plans. They showed other things on TV instead of the game.

The BBC showed a replay of Ollie Watkins' press conference and a feature about the Scotland team.

The football coverage was stopped, and BBC News started broadcasting instead.

FIFA said the game was stopped because of bad weather and lightning near the stadium. They said the game would start again after 30 minutes.

FIFA is watching the situation to see if they need to delay the game more. They will follow the safety rules and start the game again when it is safe.

The BBC stopped showing the football game.

FIFA said safety is their top priority. They thanked the fans for understanding.

The BBC started showing the World Cup again at 12:45am with different commentators.

The second half of the game started at 1am, and France won 3-0.

Many BBC viewers were confused and upset about the delay. One person wrote on social media that they wanted to watch the game, not the news.

Another person joked that if the delay continued, the BBC would have to show old footage. A third person said it was the first weather delay of the World Cup.

You can watch the World Cup on BBC iPlayer and ITVX.

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