Madonna, BTS and Shakira to Headline 2026 World Cup Final Halftime Show
Madonna, Shakira and BTS are set to headline the first-ever FIFA World Cup Final Halftime Show in July.
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association announced the news late Wednesday, May 13, in an Instagram post.
The 2026 World Cup final is set to take place on Sunday, July 19, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
"A FIFA World Cup first, the Halftime Show supports the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, a landmark initiative working to raise $100 USD million to expand access to quality education and football for children around the world," FIFA said in its Instagram post. "Throughout the tournament, USD 1 from every ticket sold to FIFA World Cup 2026™ matches will be donated to the Fund."
The first World Cup Halftime Show is curated by Coldplay's Chris Martin, who revealed the headliners in an Instagram video on Wednesday. The video featured Martin joined by characters from Sesame Street and The Muppets, including Elmo, Cookie Monster, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.
Shakira is already associated with the 2026 World Cup, as she and Nigerian singer Burna Boy provide the official song for the soccer tournament, "Dai Dai," which was released last week. Shakira previously sang "Waka Waka," the official theme song for the 2010 World Cup.
While a halftime show is first for the soccer tournament, Madonna and Shakira have both previously headlined the Super Bowl halftime show. Madonna performed during the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show in 2012. Shakira coheadlined the Super Bowl LIV halftime show in 2020 with Jennifer Lopez.
Lopez later criticized the NFL's decision to have two coheadliners for the 2020 event.
"We have six f***ing minutes. We have 30 seconds of a song, and if we take a minute, that's it, we've got five left. But there's got to be certain songs that we sing, though. We have to have our singing moments. It's not going to be a dance f***ing revue," Lopez said in her 2022 documentary Halftime. "We have to sing our message. … This is the worst idea in the world to have two people do the Super Bowl. It was the worst idea in the world."
"Typically, you have one headliner at a Super Bowl. That headliner constructs a show, and, should they choose to have other guests, that's their choice," Lopez's longtime manager, Benny Medina, said in the doc. "It was an insult to say you needed two Latinas to do the job that one artist historically has done."
The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off on Thursday, June 11.
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This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 3:12 AM.