The Albany Gazette - Madonna, Shakira, BTS to headline first World Cup final halftime show

Coldplay's Chris Martin is curating the show, which is a first for a football World Cup final but has raised concerns about how long the game's halftime break will be.

The biggest-ever World Cup, with 48 teams, kicks off on June 11 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the halftime show would be "definitely the biggest stage ever," with six billion people expected to watch the World Cup, and "a couple of billion" tuning in for the final.

The half-time show, which will also feature characters from Sesame Street and The Muppets, will support FIFA's Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative working to raise $100 million for children worldwide during the World Cup.

Shakira confirmed she will perform the tournament's official anthem, "Dai Dai," and announced she will donate "100 percent of the proceeds" of the song to the fund.

"These are very troubled times, and it's important that we all come together, to remember and to remind everyone how important our kids are and their education," Shakira told the Global Citizen NOW event in New York.

In a statement, Madonna described the concert in support of expanding global education as "deeply meaningful to me."

"Music is the universal language of hope and harmony, and we're honored to celebrate that power at the World Cup by connecting with millions of viewers around the world in support of children's education," added BTS.

- 'Biggest sporting event' -

Infantino had announced last year that there would be a first-ever halftime show "befitting the biggest sporting event in the world" at the World Cup final.

A halftime show was trialed at last year's FIFA Club World Cup final, also at MetLife Stadium. It stretched the break in excess of the regulation 15 minutes.

Shakira also performed at halftime during the final of the 2024 Copa America in Miami.

The singer -- who has a long association with the World Cup, having created the 2010 tournament's anthem "Waka Waka" -- teased "Dai Dai" last week in a brief video of the track filmed at Brazil's iconic Maracana Stadium.

In the 67-second video, Shakira appears on the pitch at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, where she performed in a free concert at the city's Copacabana Beach before two million people.

Holding the "Trionda," the official match ball of the 2026 World Cup, Shakira performed excerpts of the song in English, joined by dancers dressed in the colors of teams including the United States and Colombia.

The song was produced with Nigerian artist Burna Boy and is set for official release on Thursday. The clip, also shared by the FIFA World Cup account, ends with the message: "We're ready!"

The World Cup will feature three separate opening ceremonies -- one in each of its host countries -- starting with Mexico on June 11, followed by Canada and the US the following day.

Global music stars including Katy Perry, Future, Alanis Morissette, Michael Buble, J Balvin and Lisa will feature across those three concerts.

Infantino has also said that FIFA plans to "take over" New York's Times Square on the final weekend of the World Cup.

(Y.Harris--TAG)