The World Cup final is getting a halftime show, and the first one belongs to Shakira, Madonna and BTS. On Thursday (May 14), the three acts were announced for the July 19 final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the first time soccer’s biggest game has built a Super Bowl-style stage into its biggest night.
Coldplay’s Chris Martin curated the lineup and announced it in a social video with Elmo, Cookie Monster, Kermit, Miss Piggy and other Sesame Street and Muppets characters, according to Rolling Stone. The show raises money for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, a partnership Global Citizen announced with FIFA in 2024 to help children around the world access education and football.
What the artists said
In a press release, each act leaned on the education cause. “Without education, children are denied opportunity before they even have a chance,” said Madonna. Shakira said she has spent her life “doing two things—making songs and building schools,” and BTS called music “the universal language of hope and harmony,” saying they would “celebrate that power at the World Cup” in support of children’s education.
Why it matters
Pitchfork reads FIFA’s run of announcements as a switch to Super Bowl-style spectacle, and the opening ceremonies are stacked too. Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, LISA, Rema and Tyla headline the first U.S. match on June 12 at SoFi Stadium, where the U.S. plays Paraguay. In Mexico City on June 11, the opener between Mexico and South Africa will feature J Balvin, Tyla, Maná and Belinda, among others, while Toronto’s opener has Alanis Morissette, Alessia Cara and Michael Bublé. A trial run last year at the Club World Cup had a halftime show co-headlined by Doja Cat, Tems and J Balvin.
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For the three headliners, it’s a particularly packed summer. Shakira has the official 2026 World Cup anthem, “Dai Dai,” with Burna Boy, her second after 2010’s “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” which she performed at the 2010 opening ceremony. Madonna has Confessions II coming July 3, and BTS returned in March with Arirang, their first album in almost four years, and brought the world tour to North America in April with the first of three sold-out nights in Tampa, per Rolling Stone.
The tournament itself opens June 11 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City and ends on July 19, when MetLife, renamed the New York New Jersey Stadium for the games, hosts the final. Pitchfork notes that, given Martin’s record as the world’s surprise guest, he may well turn up himself.
- Halftime show
- Sunday, July 19, 2026, MetLife Stadium, New Jersey
- Headliners
- Shakira, Madonna, BTS (curated by Chris Martin)
- Cause
- FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund
Added to the High Grailed archive on October 12, 2026.
