FIFA World Cup halftime show offers diverse spectacle with Justin Bieber standing out

Дата публикации: 19-07-2026 22:27:14

Canadian superstar was the last headliner added to the lineup

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There’s a first time for everything, including a halftime show at Sunday’s World Cup final featuring Argentina versus Spain.

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So the hugely hyped extravaganza at East Rutherford, N.J.’s MetLife Stadium (or New York New Jersey Stadium, as it was called for the duration of the World Cup tournament) featuring Canada’s own Justin Bieber, Madonna, K-pop band BTS and Shakira of Hips Don’t Lie fame as headliners had a lot to live up to, expectation-wise.

Especially with a reported TV audience of one billion worldwide and such A-listers in the stadium crowd of 81,000 as Mick Jagger, David Beckham, Matt Damon and Will Ferrell. (Not to mention Tom Cruise, who was part of Sunday’s closing ceremonies along with Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger, Laura Pausini, and Post Malone — whose T-shirt said “I just hope both teams have fun” — plus Jennifer Hudson, who sang the U.S. national anthem.

A sunglasses-wearing Madonna, with a No. 10 on the back of her pink soccer jersey (can we assume a shout-out to Argentina star Lionel Messi given she once played First Lady of Argentina Eva Peron in a biopic?) that matched her pink mini shorts that she paired with black leather boots, kicked things off with her oldie but goodie Music, as in “music makes the people come together,” mixed with The Trammps’ classic Disco Inferno.

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Ronaldinho, Madonna and Ronaldo perform during the Topps Final Halftime Show in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, 2026 in East Rutherford, N.J.. CARL RECINE/GETTY IMAGESMadonna performed while riding on dune buggy

Riding in a dune buggy with former Brazil soccer stars Ronaldinho (in a yellow jersey) in shotgun position and Ronaldo (in a blue jersey) behind the wheel in the bowels of the stadium, Madonna and her dancers, who hung off the vehicle, eventually appeared on the soccer pitch.

But just as The Material Girl was getting warmed up, Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel took over leading musicians from the New York Philharmonic and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, along with Sesame Street and Muppets characters, on an instrumental version of The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army.

The ensemble wound that song up with the now famous “Viking row” maneuver with file footage of Norway’s lovable soccer star Erling Haaland leading the Norwegian team seated on the pitch doing the rowing while he banged a drum.

Was White, who is currently touring, not available? He would have added some real grit to the mix.

Members of the South Korean boy band BTS perform during the 2026 World Cup football tournament final match between Spain and Argentina at the New York/New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford on July 19, 2026. (Photo by JUAN MABROMATA / AFP via Getty Images)

Then it was BTS’ turn. The boy band showed up in various outfits of red, black and white performing their hit, Dynamite, on the field before a solo but powerful Canadian arrived in the form of Stratford, Ont.’s Bieber.

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Bieber goes solo for the show 

“We need support, someone who has some soul, someone who can bring the love,” said Jason Sudeikis to Brendan Hunt, reviving their soccer coach characters from Netflix’s hit show Ted Lasso, as they walked on the sidelines.

“Alright young man, let’s go,” said Sudeikis to Bieber while Hunt held up a substitution board that only said ‘JB.’

“This is your big shot. Don’t be nervous. Nobody’s watching. Make us proud.”

A short-haired Bieber, sporting some heavy face stubble and casually dressed in shorts, played Everything Hallelujah from his 2025 release SWAG II, just on his acoustic guitar while walking on the field and singing with a headset microphone.

It was a simple but effective moment.

Shakira and Burna Boy perform during the Topps Final Halftime Show in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, 2026 in East Rutherford, N.J.. LARS BARON/GETTY IMAGES

Properly heating things back up again was the belly-dancing Shakira, with her usual midriff-exposing outfit that showed off her hip-wiggling moves, as she sang Dai Dai with Burna Boy surrounded by children from Uganda’s Ghetto Kids dance troupe.

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   Justin Bieber added to star-studded FIFA World Cup Final halftime show

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   Shakira, Madonna and BTS to headline FIFA World Cup final halftime show

Chris Martin provides final song

Coming in for the final stretch was Coldplay’s Chris Martin and his band members who joined the PS22 chorus, Iraqi-born Australian singer Emmanuel Kelly, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, on the Martin-penned song, Believe in Love, with Shakira and Sudeikis also joining in as the word ‘LOVE’ was spelled out on the pitch.

It was a earnest ending to a spectacle and with the entire halftime show flying by in 11 and half minutes, it was hard for any one person to make a huge impression but overall it was a suitably diverse group and I thought Bieber was the strongest, saying a lot with very little in terms of production.

Martin and Coldplay’s longtime manager Phil Harvey curated the lineup and Global Citizen, a platform aimed at trying to end the world of extreme poverty, produced it so if you didn’t like it, blame them.

Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans called it “the single largest gathering of artists united for a cause since Live Aid.”

Well, it definitely fell short of that, but at least it was for a good cause.

The goal was to raise $100 million USD by the 2026 World Cup final and as of July 2026, more than $50 million had been raised with $1 from every World Cup 2026 ticket being donated.

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