DECATUR, GA — The City of Decatur says its World Cup WatchFest has attracted far more visitors than expected.

City officials say about 140,000 people have gathered on Decatur Square to watch World Cup matches and attend concerts, roughly doubling the city’s projected attendance.

City Manager Andrea Arnold said, “Our businesses, especially those that are on and around the event area, they’re having their best business in years, and even in decades.”

Arnold also compared the event’s impact to the 1996 Olympics, saying, “We talk about Decatur pre-Olympics and post-Olympics, and so I think we’ll have that same commentary pre FIFA World Cup and post FIFA World Cup.”

The WatchFest is scheduled to host seven more concerts and continue showing the World Cup quarterfinals, semifinals and the championship match on July 19.