Madonna, Shakira & BTS to headline World Cup final half-time show

Madonna, Shakira and K-pop boy band BTS will co-headline the Super Bowl-style half-time show at this summer’s World Cup final.

The tournament, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, concludes with the final in New Jersey on 19 July.

Pre-match performances at showpiece occasions such as the Champions League final have become commonplace, but this will be the first half-time show at a World Cup final.

Colombian pop star Shakira is releasing her official World Cup song Dai Dai – an Italian phrase meaning “let’s go” or “come on” and also featuring Nigerian singer Burna Boy – on Thursday.

The 49-year-old Hips Don’t Lie singer also released Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) for the 2010 tournament in South Africa.

‘Queen of Pop’ Madonna is the best-selling female music artist of all time and is preparing to release her 15th album, Confessions II, on 3 July.

In April, the 67-year-old made a surprise guest appearance during Sabrina Carpenter’s headline set at the Coachella music festival for a duet of Vogue and Like A Prayer.

Meanwhile, the seven members of BTS are the best-selling music act in South Korean history, with more than 45 million albums sold. They and Coldplay had a UK number three hit with My Universe in 2021.

The band have been making their comeback after a three-year music hiatus to complete their mandatory military service, and will be in the middle of an 85-date world tour when they perform at the final.

In March, Fifa president Gianni Infantino said the show “will be a historic moment for the Fifa World Cup, befitting the biggest sporting event in the world”.

The half-time show has been curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin and will raise money for the Fifa Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative working to raise $100m (£73m) for children worldwide.

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