History will be made at the FIFA World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey in July, and not just because of the higher-than-sky-high ticket prices, the famous venue, or the actual athletes playing soccer (aka sportsball to many readers). It's the music fans will hear that is making headlines.
Now, it's true that a football match — as the world outside the U.S. refers to soccer — is not known for halftime shows, even when it's as big a game as the World Cup final. But from the people who gave us the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize for President Donald Trump comes the FIFA World Cup final's first-ever halftime show, announced Thursday on Instagram by Coldplay's Chris Martin, a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.
Martin shared the spotlight in the family-friendly video with several Sesame Street muppets — Elmo, Cookie Monster, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and Animal — as they revealed the lineup, one name at a time.
The headliners list reads like a who's who of some of the biggest names in music — some queer, and all allies of the LGBTQ+ community: Madonna, Shakira and BTS — the K-pop sensation that appeared in the video via Elmo's cellphone. Will someone ask Elmo if he'll share their contact info? Asking for a friend.
Martin will be curating the halftime show, although you could probably score some big bucks by placing a prediction on Polymarket that he's not going to just hang backstage with this kind of spotlight shining.
This will be Madonna's second halftime show since she headlined the Super Bowl in 2012; Shakira also co-headlined the NFL's big game with Jennifer Lopez in 2020, as Out reported.
This is Shakira's second time joining forces with FIFA. Following her performance of "Waka Waka" in 2010 — the official song of that year's World Cup — she collaborated with Nigerian singer Burna Boy for this tournament's official song. The single, “Dai Dai,” was released last week.
The final match is set for July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. For FIFA, however, the venue is being renamed "New York New Jersey Stadium," as The New York Times reported. Which is dumb, but has to do with the international sports organization not wanting its own sponsors overshadowed by companies like MetLife. Yes, it's because money. Go figure.
The artists agreed to perform in order to raise funds for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative working to provide access to quality education and football for children worldwide, Rolling Stone reported.
“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 another Instagram post. “Throughout the tournament, USD 1 from every ticket sold to FIFA World Cup 2026™ matches will be donated to the Fund.”
