Football’s biggest stage got its first-ever halftime show on Sunday as Madonna, Shakira, BTS, Justin Bieber and Coldplay co-headlined an 11-minute spectacle at MetLife Stadium while the FIFA World Cup 2026 final between Spain and Argentina remained goalless at halftime.
The show, directed by Hamish Hamilton, also featured Burna Boy, conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the PS22 Chorus. It was produced by Global Citizen in partnership with Live Nation and Done + Dusted.
Running order
Madonna opened the show, joined on stage by Brazil football legends Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. BTS followed, before Justin Bieber took over the set. Shakira then performed alongside Burna Boy, reprising their World Cup anthem “Dai Dai,” which the pair had earlier debuted at the tournament’s opening ceremony. Coldplay closed out the performance.
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Sesame Street and Muppets characters also featured as part of the show.
Curated by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, the performance backed the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which aims to raise $100 million to expand access to education and football for children worldwide. More than $50 million had already been raised, including $1 from every World Cup 2026 ticket sold, directed towards social projects globally.
The show was billed as the first-ever halftime performance in World Cup history. It has drawn some criticism over concerns about the commercialisation of the sport, particularly around breaching FIFA’s 15-minute halftime interval rule.
FIFA and Global Citizen struck a four-year partnership in September 2024 to run the halftime show, aimed at tackling extreme poverty and widening children’s access to sport and education.
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