Madonna, Shakira and BTS are set to co-headline the first-ever FIFA World Cup halftime show, the International Football Federation revealed on Wednesday night.
Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Elmo announced the news in a teaser trailer for the World Cup halftime show, posted at 9 p.m. Martin and Elmo hand-picked BTS, Madonna, and Shakira as co-headliners, along with Ms. Piggy, Kermit, and other familiar faces from the Muppet crew. The teaser also announced that proceeds from the show will be donated to the FIFA Global Citizenship Education Fund. FIFA said the fund is a “groundbreaking initiative that will raise $100 million to expand access to quality education and football to children around the world.”
The FIFA World Cup Final will be held on Sunday, July 19th at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The World Cup final is the most watched annual sporting event of all time. The 2022 game drew more than 500 million live viewers, surpassing even the most-watched Super Bowl in history, the 2025 playoff game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs. The average number of viewers was just 127.71 million.
FIFA will experiment with halftime entertainment for the first time at the 2025 Club World Cup by inviting Doja Cat, Tems and J. Balvin. That trio was also chosen by Martin.
The last time the FIFA World Cup was held in the United States was in 1994, making it the most attended World Cup in history. The 2026 festival begins on June 11th. Fox Sports and Telemundo will broadcast the game for American viewers.
