The World Cup final’s halftime show will feature 3 icons and raise $100M for education.
Soccer’s biggest night is getting a soundtrack worthy of the occasion.
FIFA confirmed on May 14 that the 2026 World Cup final will include the first-ever halftime show in the tournament’s history, and the lineup makes a compelling case for why the moment demanded a certain level of ambition. Three of the most recognized names in global music will share the MetLife Stadium stage in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19, when the tournament reaches its long-awaited conclusion.
Three artists, one historic stage
The confirmed performers are 1) Madonna, 2) Shakira and 3) BTS. The show is being curated by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, who is working alongside Global Citizen on the full production.
Madonna, 67, arrives at the halftime show with fresh momentum. The best-selling female recording artist of all time is set to release her 15th studio album, Confessions II, on July 3, just over two weeks before the final. She made a widely discussed surprise appearance during Sabrina Carpenter’s headline set at Coachella in April, joining Carpenter for a duet performance that sparked immediate attention online.
Shakira, 49, has perhaps the deepest personal connection to the World Cup of anyone on the bill. The Colombian singer wrote and performed Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) for the 2010 tournament in South Africa and has appeared at the 2006 and 2014 finals as well. She also took the halftime stage at the Copa America 2024 final in Miami.
Her new official World Cup anthem, Dai Dai, an Italian phrase that loosely translates to let’s go, was produced with Nigerian artist Burna Boy and is set for release today. She recently teased the track in a video filmed at Brazil’s iconic Maracana Stadium, where she performed a free concert at Copacabana Beach before a crowd of 2 million people.
BTS, the seven-member South Korean group that has sold more than 45 million albums worldwide, completes the lineup. The band is currently in the middle of its 85-date ARIRANG World Tour, a full comeback after a three-year hiatus during which the members fulfilled South Korea’s mandatory military service. Their connection to Chris Martin extends back to 2021, when their collaboration My Universe with Coldplay reached No. 3 in the United Kingdom.
A show built with a purpose
Beyond the scale of the entertainment, the halftime show is anchored to a broader mission. Chris Martin and Global Citizen are using the platform to support FIFA’s Global Citizen Education Fund, which aims to raise $100 million to expand access to education and football for children around the world. FIFA has also announced plans to take over New York’s Times Square during the final weekend of the tournament, extending the celebration well beyond the stadium itself.
The World Cup is the largest in the history of the sport, with 48 teams competing across the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 through July 19. Separate opening ceremony performances were previously announced for the host cities, featuring artists including Alanis Morissette, Katy Perry, Tyla, Future, Maná and Los Angeles Azules.
The one question still being debated
One detail that continues to generate discussion is how long the show will actually run. Sources close to the production have indicated it is expected to last approximately 11 minutes, a window that keeps it within the 15-minute halftime limit specified under the laws of the game. That is considerably tighter than what some had anticipated.
The concern has precedent. The halftime show at last summer’s FIFA Club World Cup final, also at MetLife Stadium, stretched well past 24 minutes. Fitting three stadium-level acts into a compact and precisely timed window will require an operation as choreographed off the field as anything happening on it. The world will be watching.