Justin Bieber Completes All-Star Lineup for the First-Ever FIFA World Cup Final Halftime Show
The 2026 FIFA World Cup final just got even bigger. FIFA and Global Citizen announced on Wednesday that Canadian pop superstar Justin Bieber will co-headline the first halftime show ever staged at a World Cup final, joining a lineup that already features Madonna, Shakira and K-pop phenomenon BTS.
The historic performance will take place on Sunday, July 19, 2026, at New York New Jersey Stadium (MetLife Stadium) in East Rutherford, New Jersey, during the championship match of the tournament co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. The 11-minute production — designed to fit inside football’s traditional 15-minute interval — is curated by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin in his ongoing role as international curator of the Global Citizen Festival, and is being produced by Global Citizen in partnership with Live Nation and Done + Dusted.
A lineup spanning continents and generations
Beyond its four co-headliners, the show will feature Nigerian Afrobeats star Burna Boy; acclaimed Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel, music and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic; and the PS22 Chorus, a famed choir of fourth- and fifth-grade students from a public elementary school in Staten Island, who will perform alongside Coldplay.
Burna Boy and Shakira are also expected to perform «Dai Dai,» their official 2026 World Cup anthem, which continues to dominate charts worldwide. The Nigerian star said that representing Africa at the first-ever World Cup final halftime show is both a privilege and a responsibility he takes seriously, and that he is honored to be part of a performance that celebrates football and culture while creating opportunities for children through education.
Adding a family-friendly touch, characters from Sesame Street and The Muppets — including Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy — will make an appearance. According to FIFA, their inclusion reinforces the show’s central purpose: ensuring that children everywhere have access to quality education.
A spectacle with a cause
The performance will support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative working to raise 100 million dollars to expand access to quality education and football opportunities for children around the world. More than 50 million dollars has already been raised, boosted by the donation of 1 dollar from every ticket sold to World Cup 2026 matches. In May, FIFA and Global Citizen announced the first round of grants from the fund, supporting programs in underserved communities across ten countries.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said nothing matters more to the world than education, celebrating Bieber’s addition to the bill and describing the event as a groundbreaking spectacle that will send a message of unity and hope to billions of viewers.
«The FIFA World Cup brings the world together in a way nothing else can,» Bieber said in a statement, adding that he is especially grateful the show is already helping expand access to education for children globally.
Global Citizen co-founder and CEO Hugh Evans went further, calling it the largest gathering of artists united for a single cause since Live Aid and predicting it could become «the most-watched 11 minutes of broadcast music performance in history.»
Star power at its peak
The announcement caps a massive year for Bieber, who headlined both weekends of Coachella 2026 and recently released live recordings from those performances. For BTS, the show marks another milestone in a triumphant comeback: their sixth studio album, released in March, was the group’s first since completing South Korea’s mandatory military service and spent three consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, launching a world tour that runs into next year.
Two of the headliners also arrive with Super Bowl pedigree — Madonna topped the halftime bill in 2012, while Shakira co-headlined the 2020 edition alongside Jennifer Lopez — experience that now transfers to football’s first-ever version of the format.
The road to July 19
Infantino first teased the idea of a final halftime show back in March 2025, promising an event worthy of the world’s biggest sporting stage. With the quarterfinals underway, eight teams remain in contention for a place at MetLife Stadium: Argentina, Belgium, England, France, Morocco, Norway, Spain and Switzerland.
For fans without a ticket, Global Citizen will also host the world’s largest World Cup final watch party on Central Park’s Great Lawn, where 50,000 people are expected to experience the match — and the historic halftime show — on giant screens.
