Overview
- The World Cup final at MetLife Stadium will include the tournament’s first halftime show on Sunday, July 19, featuring Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira and BTS in a set curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
- FIFA says the on-stage performance will last 11 minutes while broadcasters and crew expect the full break for build and teardown to stretch to roughly 20 to 30 minutes, which exceeds the usual 15-minute halftime set by football rules.
- Organizers added Gustavo Dudamel leading a joint performance by the New York Philharmonic and Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar Orchestra as a July 16 tribute to victims of June’s Venezuelan earthquakes.
- The halftime show is explicitly tied to the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which has pledged $1 per ticket toward a $100 million fundraising goal to expand education and football programs for children.
- The plan has drawn vocal criticism from musicians who reject a Super Bowl-style spectacle at a football final and raised questions about player welfare, broadcaster coverage choices, and the future role of big entertainment in major sporting events.