Shakira, Madonna and BTS to Co-Host First-Ever World Cup Final Halftime Show

The World Cup final is often a star-studded affair – and now this summer’s edition will see some of the biggest names in music join the festivities. FIFA announced that the tournament final on July 19 will feature a halftime show featuring Shakira, Madonna and BTS, with a performance hosted by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. Shakira is set to release the official World Cup song, “Dai Dai,” on Thursday. The July 19 match will take place at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with the halftime show aimed at raising money for the FIFA Global Citizenship Education Fund, an initiative to provide access to quality education and football for children around the world. The tournament, bringing together 48 teams, will begin on June 11 and will be co-organized by 16 cities spread across three countries: Canada, Mexico and the United States. Mexico will open the tournament on June 11 against South Africa in Mexico City and will headline the opening ceremony including Alejandro Fernández, Belinda, Danny Ocean, J Balvin, Lila Downs, Los Ángeles Azules, Maná and Tyla. An opening ceremony in Los Angeles on June 12 before the United States’ opening match against Paraguay will feature artists such as Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, LISA, Rema and Tyla. The same day, Canada’s opening match against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto will feature Alanis Morissette, Alessia Cara, Elyanna, Jessie Reyez, Michael Bublé, Nora Fatehi, Sanjoy, Vegedream and William Prince. 2026 FIFA World Cup: How to Watch The World Cup will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Spread across three countries, the tournament will culminate with the final on July 19 at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. All 104 tournament games will be broadcast live on FOX (70) and FS1 (34), with each game streamed live and on-demand in the FOX One and FOX Sports apps. A record 40 games, more than a third of the tournament, will be broadcast in prime time on FOX (21) and FS1 (19). The June 11 opening match between Mexico and South Africa (3 p.m. ET) will be streamed for free on Tubi, along with the United States’ opening match against Paraguay on June 12 (9 p.m. ET).