Shakira, Madonna, BTS To Co-Headline First-Ever World Cup Final Halftime Show

The World Cup final is often a star-studded affair - and now this summer's edition will have some of the biggest names in music joining the festivities. FIFA announced that the tournament's final on July 19 will have a halftime show that will feature Shakira, Madonna and BTS with the show curated by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. Shakira is set to release the official song of the World Cup, "Dai Dai," later Thursday. The July 19 match will take place at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with the halftime show aiming to raise funds for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative working to provide access to quality education and football for children worldwide. The 48-team tournament will begin June 11 and will be co-hosted by 16 cities spread across three countries - Canada, Mexico and the United States. Mexico opens up the tournament on June 11 against South Africa in Mexico City, and will have opening ceremony headliners that include Alejandro Fernandez, Belinda, Danny Ocean, J Balvin, Lila Downs, Los Angeles Azules, Mana and Tyla. An opening ceremony in Los Angeles on June 12 ahead of the USA's opener against Paraguay will feature music acts like Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, LISA, Rema and Tyla. Canada's opening match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto on the same day will feature performances by Alanis Morissette, Alessia Cara, Elyanna, Jessie Reyez, Michael Buble, Nora Fatehi, Sanjoy, Vegedream and William Prince. 2026 FIFA World Cup: How To Watch The World Cup will run from June 11-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 matches will air live across FOX (70) and FS1 (34) with every match streaming live and on-demand within both the FOX One and the FOX Sports app. A record 40 matches, more than one-third of the tournament, will air in prime time across FOX (21) and FS1 (19). The opening match on June 11 between Mexico and South Africa (3 p.m. ET) will stream for free on Tubi, as well as the USA's opening match against Paraguay on June 12 (9 p.m. ET).