Ahistoric fusion of Latin, pop, and K-pop awaits at the 2026 World Cup final, with global icons Shakira, Madonna, and BTS poised to light up the stage in a groundbreaking halftime show. This star-studded spectacle brings together unrivalled musical prowess to electrify a global audience and celebrate the diverse, vibrant spirit of soccer fandom.
The World Cup final, which is scheduled for July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, is already a quadrennial spectacle that in 2022 drew more than 500 million live viewers. But the introduction of a musical performance could attract even more casual spectators.
The artists have a wide catalogue to choose from for the anticipated performance. Madonna has won seven Grammy Awards, while Shakira has won four. Additionally, BTS became the first K-pop group to receive a Grammy nomination.
Madonna headlined the Super Bowl halftime show in 2012, and Shakira shared the Super Bowl stage with Jennifer Lopez in 2020. The artists for the World Cup halftime show were selected by Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay, who shared the lineup in a video on social media that featured characters from Sesame Street and the Muppets. “It’s a chance to show how amazing all different kinds of humans are,” Martin explained to Elmo.
FIFA and Global Citizen conducted a trial run at MetLife Stadium last summer with a halftime show at the final of the FIFA Club World Cup, featuring American rapper Doja Cat, Nigerian singer Tems and Colombian artist J Balvin. The performers sang from a stage that was woven into the stands. In an interview last year ahead of the Club World Cup, Martin said, “This tournament is for people from all over the globe, and the halftime show should ideally try and reflect that a bit.”
Shakira recently released the tournament’s official song, “Dai Dai,” which features Afrobeats star Burna Boy. Madonna announced that she is releasing a new album, “Confessions on a Dance Floor: Part II,” in July. And BTS reunited as a full band in March for the first time in nearly four years after all seven members completed mandatory service in the South Korean military.
This month, FIFA also announced the lineups for the opening ceremony ahead of the first game played in each of the three host countries. In the US, the musicians who will perform before a June 12 matchup at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles include Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, Lisa, Rema and Tyla. Major musical performances during sports events are not new to American fans.
Super Bowl halftime shows, with stars like Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar and Rihanna, routinely draw more than 100 million broadcast viewers in America and drive conversations before and after the performance.
Devoted soccer fans, however, do not need extra festivities to generate excitement, and the introduction of a halftime show could bring a clash with purists.
The halftime show will be produced by Global Citizen, a nonprofit organisation that hosts large-scale musical concerts to highlight pressing charitable issues, such as hunger and poverty.