madonna, Shakira and K-pop megastars BTS will perform a Super Bowl-style halftime show at the World Cup finals at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19, organizers said Thursday.ColdplayChris Martin is the curator of the show, which is a first for a football World Cup final. The singer made the announcement on her handle, in a post that read: “Madonna, Shakira and BTS will headline the first-ever FIFA World Cup™ Final Halftime Show at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19. Hosted by Coldplay’s Chris Martin and produced by Global Citizen, the show will raise funds for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, improving access to quality education and football for children around the world.”FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced in March last year that it would be the “first ever half-time show at a FIFA World Cup final”.At the time he did not say who would be performing or how long the show and halftime would last.“It will be a historic moment for the FIFA World Cup and the spectacle of the world’s biggest sporting event,” he said on Instagram.The move mirrors the show at the 2024 Copa America final in Miami, when Colombian star Shakira performed at halftime at the Hard Rock Stadium.Last year’s FIFA Club World Cup final, also at MetLife Stadium, also featured a half-time break that extended beyond regulation by 15 minutes.Infantino added that FIFA also planned to “take over” New York’s Times Square during the final weekend of the World Cup.Shakira teased the new official 2026 World Cup song last week, releasing a short video of the track recorded at Brazil’s iconic Maracana stadium.The singer — who also created the 2010 World Cup anthem “Waka Waka” — announced the track, titled “Dai Dai,” in a post on her Instagram account.In the 67-second video, Shakira appears at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, where she performed a free concert on the city’s Copacabana beach last Saturday in front of two million people.Holding “Trionda,” the official ball of the 2026 World Cup, Shakira performed parts of the song in English, along with colorfully dressed dancers from the United States and Colombia.The song was produced with Nigerian artist Burna Boy and will be officially released on Thursday. The clip, also shared by the FIFA World Cup account, ends with the message: “We’re ready!”Shakira has a long association with the World Cup, performing at the 2006 and 2014 World Cup finals in addition to producing “Waka Waka” for the 2010 tournament.bur-pst/dh
