BTS, Madonna & Shakira to Headline 2026 World Cup Final Halftime Show
Madonna, Shakira and BTS will perform during halftime of the World Cup final game, Global Citizen announced first thing Thursday (May 14).The Sunday, July 19, match at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, will mark the first time the FIFA World Cup final has ever featured a halftime show. Billboard understands that the show will clock in at 11 minutes.The news was announced in a social video starring Coldplay’s Chris Martin alongside Sesame Street‘s Elmo and Cookie Monster, as well as Kermit, Miss Piggie and more from The Muppets. The unlikely crew even calls up BTS on FaceTime in the video — watch below.Shakira’s name had already been linked to this year’s World Cup – hosted in North America, with tournament games across the United States, Canada and Mexico – with the announcement of “Dai Dai,” her official 2026 World Cup song with Burna Boy. It will be Shak’s second official FIFA World Cup song following “Waka, Waka (This Time for Africa)” recorded for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The Colombian superstar kicks off her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour 2026 dates in June, with July 14 and July 20 in New Jersey and New York, respectively, surrounding the World Cup final at MetLife.Madonna is also gearing up for a busy July, with the Queen of Pop’s Confessions II album – the sequel to her 2005 classic Confessions on a Dance Floor – arriving July 3. She’s so far released lead single “Bring Your Love,” her duet with Sabrina Carpenter, which they live-debuted during weekend 2 of Coachella last month, as well as “I Feel So Free.”BTS made a major return to music earlier this year with the March 20 release of their sixth studio album ARIRANG, the South Korean group’s first project since they went on hiatus for each member to complete their military service. The album debuted atop the Billboard 200 and stayed there for three straight weeks – their first multi-week No. 1 on the chart. Last month, they kicked off their ARIRANG WORLD TOUR in Goyang, South Korea, before bringing the trek to the U.S. on April 25. They have international dates scheduled through next March.The 2026 FIFA World Cup final halftime show is being curated by Global Citizen along with Coldplay’s Martin, with plans to raise money for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which is working to raise $100 million to expand access to education and football for children worldwide. The fund has already raised more than $30 million, with $1 from every ticket sold to World Cup matches being donated throughout the tournament. The advocacy organization and Martin similarly teamed up for last year’s Club World Cup final halftime show, which was headlined by Doja Cat, J Balvin and Tems.Last week, FIFA announced that Katy Perry, Future, Tyla, LISA and Anitta are slated to perform during the 2026 World Cup opening ceremonies set for the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Perry will headline the opening ceremony in Los Angeles ahead of the U.S. men’s national team’s first game against Paraguay on June 12. Future will also take the SoFi Stadium stage for a performance along with DJ Sanjoy.While this marks the first time the World Cup final has had a halftime show, two of the July performers have previously headlined the Super Bowl halftime show; Madonna took center field at the 2012 Super Bowl, while Shakira co-headlined with Jennifer Lopez in 2020.
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