Madonna, Shakira and K-pop megastars BTS will headline a Super Bowl-style half-time show at the World Cup final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, organizers said Thursday.Coldplay‘s Chris Martin is curating the show, which is a first for a football World Cup final. The singer made the announcement on his handle in a post that read, “Madonna, Shakira and BTS will co-headline the first-ever FIFA World Cup™ Final Halftime Show at the New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19. Curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin and produced by Global Citizen, the show will raise funds for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, improving access to quality education and football for children around the world.”FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced in March last year that there would be “the first-ever half-time show at a FIFA World Cup final”.He did not say at the time who would be performing or how long the show and half-time would take.“This will be a historic moment for the FIFA World Cup and a show befitting the biggest sporting event in the world,” he said on Instagram.The move mirrors the show held during the final of the 2024 Copa America in Miami, when Colombian star Shakira performed at half-time at the Hard Rock Stadium.There was also a half-time show at last year’s FIFA Club World Cup final, also at MetLife Stadium, which stretched the break in excess of the regulation 15 minutes.Infantino added that FIFA also planned to “take over” New York’s Times Square on the final weekend of the World Cup.Shakira last week teased the new official song for the 2026 World Cup, releasing a brief video of the track filmed at Brazil’s iconic Maracana Stadium.The singer — who also created the 2010 World Cup anthem “Waka Waka” — announced the song, titled “Dai Dai” in a post on her Instagram account.In the 67-second video, Shakira appears on the pitch at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, where she performed in a free concert at the city’s Copacabana Beach last Saturday before two million people.Holding the “Trionda”, the official match ball of the 2026 World Cup, Shakira performed excerpts of the song in English, joined by dancers dressed in the colors of teams including the United States and Colombia.The song was produced with Nigerian artist Burna Boy and is set for official release on Thursday. The clip, also shared by the FIFA World Cup account, ends with the message: “We’re ready!”Shakira has a long association with the World Cup, performing at the 2006 and 2014 World Cup finals in addition to producing “Waka Waka” for the 2010 tournament.bur-pst/dh
