World Cup 2026 will prolong half-time interval for extravagant show, acts announced

An aerial image of a football match being played at the MetLife Stadium. — The MetLife Stadium will host the historic half-time show.

FIFA will introduce a half-time show into the football schedule this summer, during the final of the sport’s most prestigious tournament.

World Cup 2026 will prolong the standard 15-minute half-time break on July 19 to make way for a mid-game show, using MetLife Stadium’s field.

What will the half-time show consist of at World Cup 2026?

The MetLife Stadium, home to NFL franchises the New York Giants and the New York Jets, will operate as the halftime show’s venue, mimicking the Super Bowl’s yearly performances.

A similar situation unfolded last summer at the Club World Cup, with the final also being hosted by the MetLife Stadium, when FIFA coordinated performances from Doja Cat, J Balvin and Tems as half-time entertainment.

Shakira performs onstage during the Pepsi Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show at Hard Rock Stadium on February 02, 2020 in Miami, Florida. — Shakira has performed at the Super Bowl (Image credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

However, unlike the extravagant show planned for the World Cup 2026, the field was not used and instead a stage was constructed high up in the stands for the performers.

Now, Madonna, Shakira and K-Pop superstars BTS will headline the half-time show of the World Cup 2026 final on July 19, taking place on the pitch.

Chris Martin of Coldplay will curate the show which, with three headlining performers, can be expected to extend far beyond the customary 15 half-time minutes.

The show will support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative that is helping to raise $100 million to expand access to education and football for children across the globe.

Shakira is no stranger to headlining an America-held sporting event’s half-time show – she performed at the Super Bowl alongside Jennifer Lopez in 2020 – or to producing music for the World Cup.

Coldplay members stand with their Barcelona shirt — Coldplay are involved with the World Cup halftime show (Image credit: Spotify)

The 49-year-old, responsible for arguably the tournament’s song of the millennium with Waka Waka for the 2014 edition, is also gearing up to release music for this summer's event.

The Colombian pop star teased a new track, Dai Dai, meaning ‘come on, come on’ in Italian, on her Instagram last week, as her latest World Cup musical contribution.

The World Cup 2026, featuring 48 teams in the tournament’s largest yet, will kick off on June 11 and culminate on July 19.

Kedar Bayley is a trained journalist specialising in culture reporting. As a fan of Liverpool FC, he writes on the Reds often. Knowledgable about all things sports, cinema and television, you can find his words in Screen International, FourFourTwo, Manchester Evening News and more.