news-old-title

Madonna, Shakira and BTS are set to co-headline the first ever FIFA World Cup halftime show, the International Federation of Association Football 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. Together with Ms. Piggy, Kermit and several other familiar faces from the Muppet crew, Martin and Elmo hand-selected BTS, Madonna and Shakira as the co-headliners. The teaser also announced that proceeds made from the show will be donated to the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which is “a landmark initiative working to raise $100 million to expand access to quality education and football for children worldwide,” according to FIFA.

The FIFA World Cup Finals take place on Sunday, July 19, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The World Cup Finals are the most-watched annual sporting event by far. The 2022 match drew more than 500 million live viewers, blowing past even the most-watched Super Bowl of all time, which was the 2025 playoff between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. It averaged just 127.71 million viewers.

FIFA first experimented with half-time entertainment by bringing in Doja Cat, Tems and J Balvin for the 2025 Club World Cup. That trio was also selected by Martin.

The last time the FIFA World Cup was hosted in the United States was in 1994, and it was the most attended World Cup in history. For 2026, the festivities kick off on June 11. Fox Sports and Telemundo will broadcast the games for American audiences.