GOAL!—A World Cup Halftime Show with Madonna, Shakira, <em>and</em> BTS
The performers will take the stage during the World Cup Final at MetLife Stadium on July 19
Reported by Harper's Bazaar.
The FIFA World Cup has never needed a halftime show to sell tickets — the 2022 final between Argentina and France pulled over 500 million live viewers without one. But the 2026 tournament, co-hosted across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada for the first time since 1994, is going bigger. Madonna, Shakira, and BTS will headline the first-ever FIFA World Cup halftime show on July 16 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, according to Harper's Bazaar. And yes, halftime just became the main event.
The lineup is almost absurdly well-calibrated. Madonna delivered one of the most iconic Super Bowl halftime performances in history back in 2012, closing with a cathedral-worthy rendition of "Like a Prayer" alongside Cee-Lo Green. Shakira has not only already performed at a World Cup — the 2010 opening ceremony in South Africa, plus the inescapable "Waka Waka" — but she and Jennifer Lopez rewrote the Super Bowl halftime playbook in 2020. BTS, fresh off a four-year hiatus following mandatory military service, just launched their "ARIRANG" reunion tour across 34 cities through 2027. Three stadium-filling forces, one night.
The Mastermind You Didn't See Coming
The architect of all this? Coldplay's Chris Martin — who announced the lineup not via a press release, but through an Instagram skit involving the Muppets and Sesame Street characters. Elmo FaceTimes BTS. Miss Piggy lobbies for a spot on the bill. Animal beats the drums and drops the names. It's chaotic, it's bizarre, and somehow it works. FIFA is partnering with Global Citizen, the human rights nonprofit known for massive-scale concerts, on the production — a collaboration that first launched at the Club World Cup halftime show last year, featuring Tems, J Balvin, and Doja Cat.
None of these artists are coasting. Madonna has been everywhere since announcing Confessions II — Met Gala best-dressed, Coachella cameos, new music, a short film. Shakira was tapped to write this year's official World Cup anthem, "Dai Dai." BTS's return has the kind of cultural momentum that doesn't require explanation. The casual viewer surge the committee is banking on? It's not a gamble — it's a guarantee. (The tournament itself kicks off June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles with an opening performance from Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, Lisa, Rema, and Tyla, but let's be honest about which show is getting the group chat going.)
When a halftime show is engineered this deliberately — three icons, a billion-person fanbase between them, a nonprofit partnership, and a Muppet announcement — the sport almost becomes the opening act.
Read the original at Harper's Bazaar.
