Two-Metre Labubu Figures Appear at World Cup Opening Ceremony

Overview

• Two roughly two-metre Labubu costumed figures walked onstage during J Balvin’s opening performance at Estadio Azteca on June 11 and drew wide attention from fans and broadcasters.
• A TV Globo commentator briefly misidentified the characters as the tournament mascots before correcting himself on air, highlighting public confusion over the stunt.
• The onstage moment follows a commercial partnership announced at the end of March between FIFA and Pop Mart that cleared the way for a limited 'Labubu da Copa' collection.
• Pop Mart is selling the special World Cup Labubu and related items through temporary host-city shops and its U.S. site with the collectible listed at about US$150.
• Labubu was created in 2015 by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung and acquired by Pop Mart in 2019; the brand’s jump from blind-box collectibles to high-profile sports marketing shows how viral designer toys can move into mass merchandising and live-event promotion.