Madonna, Shakira, BTS to headline first World Cup final half-time show / Photo: © AFP
-
Injured Australian swim star O'Callaghan pulls out of PanPacs
-
Veteran Wallabies playmaker Quade Cooper eyes World Cup comeback
-
California lifeguards wiped out from extreme weather
-
FIFA scraps private investment plan after backlash
-
FIFA scraps private investment plan after backlash: Infantino
-
US plans steep water cuts for southwest amid Colorado River crisis
-
South Africa's WAFCON hopes hang in the balance after dramatic draw
-
Nakashima ousts top seed de Minaur, Osaka advances at Washington
-
Hunter Bell cruises to Commonwealth gold, Pathirage stuns javelin stars
-
Nakashima ousts top seed de Minaur and Osaka advances at Washington
-
Amazon surges as US stocks shrug off bond yield worries
-
Nakashima ousts defending champion de Minaur to reach Washington semis
-
Google rolls back new satellite image AI tool after backlash
-
Magaia salvages last-gasp WAFCON draw for South Africa
-
Ryu leads in bid for third straight major at women's British Open
-
Forever chemicals and pesticides under Trump: what to know
-
Fire-hit France region 'coming up for air' as main blaze calms
-
US announces steep water cuts for three states amid Colorado River crisis
-
Wembanyama to get signature shoe in Nike contract extension: reports
-
EU grapples with migrant crisis in Spain's N. Africa enclave
-
Oil giants report blowout profits on war, warn high gas prices could persist
-
Hungary to shut nuclear plant as heatwave hits central Europe
-
Google launches new satellite image AI tool, alarming researchers
-
Strengthening El Nino 'adding fuel to a planet already on fire': UN chief
-
Eddie Howe resigns as Newcastle boss to 'recharge'
-
Tech-fuelled rally fizzles as oil prices rise
-
High winds hamper firefighting efforts in western Turkey
-
Chelsea's Mudryk cleared to play after doping ban appeal
-
Howe resigns as Newcastle boss
-
A side of oysters for France's flat-out firefighters
-
Full-scale tour will benefit All Blacks, says coach Rennie
-
England cricket chief Key refuses to rule out Stokes return
-
US Fed dissenters call for rate hikes over sustained inflation
-
New blazes in Greece as strong winds hamper firefighting
-
Trump and far-right seize on Spanish migration crisis
-
Springboks star Feinberg-Mngomezulu back for Argentina Test
-
Hamas agrees to disarm under Trump plan
-
Shops closed, businesses quiet as Spain's Ceuta faces migrant surge
-
French, Italian winegrowers face earliest ever harvest
-
Chelsea fined £10mn, handed suspended transfer ban for breaching agent rules
-
Alarm over climate-linked low level of German waterways
-
Residents defend Spain’s ancient 'El Abuelo' tree from flames
-
UK court rejects challenge against new Chinese embassy in London
-
Forever chemicals and pesticides: what to know
-
New York sues online prediction markets giant Kalshi
-
Spaniard Santi Denia takes over as Czech Republic coach
-
Commerzbank agrees to talks with UniCredit after two-year standoff
-
EU races to contain new migrant crisis as thousands cross into Spain's N. Africa enclave
-
A rumour, a rush: chaos at Morocco border with Spain's Ceuta
-
Profits surge at US oil giant amid Iran war supply shock
Madonna, Shakira, BTS to headline first World Cup final half-time show
Madonna, Shakira and K-pop megastars BTS will headline a Super Bowl-style half-time show at the World Cup final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, FIFA said Thursday.
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 half-time 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 announced in March last year that there would be "the first-ever half-time show at a FIFA World Cup final".
He did not say at the time who would be performing or how long the show would last.
"This will be a historic moment for the FIFA World Cup and a show befitting the biggest sporting event in the world," he said on Instagram.
The move mirrors the show held during the final of the 2024 Copa America in Miami, when Colombian star Shakira performed at half-time at the Hard Rock Stadium.
There was also a half-time show at last year's FIFA Club World Cup final, also at MetLife Stadium, which stretched the break in excess of the regulation 15 minutes.
Infantino added that FIFA also planned to "take over" New York's Times Square on the final weekend of the World Cup.
The half-time extravaganza will support FIFA's Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative working to raise $100 million for children worldwide during the World Cup.
Shakira last week teased the new official song for the World Cup, releasing a brief video of the track filmed at Brazil's iconic Maracana Stadium.
The singer -- who also created the 2010 World Cup anthem "Waka Waka" -- announced the song, titled "Dai Dai" in a post on her Instagram account.
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!"
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.
A.Ruegg--VB
