FIFA and Global Citizen on Thursday (May 14) unveiled the first-ever halftime show for a World Cup final, featuring Shakira, Madonna and K-pop group BTS in a star-studded lineup aimed at raising funds for children’s education worldwide.

The show will take place during the 2026 World Cup final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin set to curate the event.

The announcement was accompanied by a promotional video featuring Sesame Street’s Elmo and Martin, who connects with BTS to invite them to perform, with the group confirming they would take part.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the halftime show would bring together music and football “on the biggest stage in the world” while supporting a broader social goal, adding that the initiative would help “raise money to enhance quality education of children all over the world.”

Former Brazil international soccer player Kaka, who appeared on stage holding the World Cup trophy, said he was “so happy to be part of this group that is using the World Cup to increase education around the world,” expressing hope that children would have “the opportunity to grow, to dream,” and one day play on football’s biggest stage.

Shakira, also present at the launch event, said she hoped the performance would highlight the importance of education, adding that she hopes “the importance of investing in education steals the show.”

She also announced that she would donate 100% of the proceeds from the official World Cup song “Dai Dai” to the fund, saying that “every time the song plays and every time the video streams, we’re all going to be helping the cause.”

The 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, will run from June 11 to July 19 and will be the first edition of the tournament to feature a Super Bowl-style halftime show during the final.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION (AIRED MAY 14, 2026) (GLOBAL CITIZEN - Must courtesy GLOBAL CITIZEN)

1. SESAME STREET CHARACTER ELMO KICKING AN ADIDAS TRIONDA, THE OFFICIAL MATCH BALL OF THE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP

2. MUSICIAN CHRIS MARTIN CATCHING THE TRIONDA / (SOUNDBITE) (English) MUSICIAN, CHRIS MARTIN, IN EXCHANGE WITH SESAME STREET CHARACTER, ELMO, SAYING:

ELMO: “Nice catch Mr. Chris. But you don't play football with your hands.”

MARTIN: “Oh, that's what I was doing wrong.”

ELMO: “Right.”

MARTIN: “Elmo, I need to ask your help with something.”

ELMO: “Elmo is always happy to help.”

MARTIN: “Well, this year, for the first time, there's a halftime show of the World Cup final. Yeah.”

ELMO: “No. A halftime show?”

MARTIN: “Yeah, a halftime show.”

ELMO: “A halftime show?”

MARTIN: “A halftime show.”

ELMO: “What’s a halftime show?”

3. ELMO HOLDING MOBILE PHONE WHILE HAVING VIDEO CALL WITH BTS MEMBERS

4. VARIOUS OF ELMO AND MARTIN HAVING VIDEO CALL WITH BTS MEMBERS / MARTIN ASKING MEMBERS OF BTS IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO PERFORM AT THE HALFTIME SHOW OF THE FIFA WORLD CUP FINAL, BTS MEMBER SAYING THEY "WILL BE THERE"

5. THE MUPPET SHOW CHARACTER ANIMAL ANNOUNCING THE LINEUP FOR THE FIFA WORLD CUP FINAL HALFTIME SHOW

6. GRAPHIC WITH IMAGES OF MUSICIANS MADONNA, SHAKIRA AND BTS

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (MAY 14, 2026) (GLOBAL CITIZEN - Must courtesy GLOBAL CITIZEN. Music not cleared for use, please check with the applicable collecting society or relevant rights holders in your territory regarding clearance of any sound recordings)

7. PRESIDENT OF FIFA, GIANNI INFANTINO WALKING ON STAGE

8. FORMER FOOTBALLER KAKA WALKING ON STAGE HOLDING WORLD CUP TROPHY

9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT OF FIFA, GIANNI INFANTINO, SAYING:

“And we are so, so immensely proud that their new song, 'Dai Dai' is the official song of the 2026 FIFA World Cup supporting the Global Citizen FIFA Education Fund.”

10. MUSICIAN SHAKIRA WALKING ON STAGE

11. WIDE OF STAGE

12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT OF FIFA, GIANNI INFANTINO, SAYING:

“When you look at I mean, Shakira, Madonna, BTS, in the biggest stage in the world, the day of the World Cup final, the 19th of July, actually, here in New York, New Jersey. But when you combine that with the purpose that is even bigger, to make sure that thanks to this, we can raise money to enhance quality education of children all over the world, well this makes it really worthwhile and the emotion is even bigger.”

13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MUSICIAN, SHAKIRA, SAYING:

“So I can't wait to be on that stage. And I hope that on the world's biggest stage, finally, the importance of investing in education steals the show.”

14. WHITE FLASH

15. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MUSICIAN, SHAKIRA, SAYING:

“I’m donating 100% of the proceeds of 'Dai Dai' to the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund. So every time the song plays, starting from tonight at 8 p.m., every time the song plays and every time the video streams, we're all going to be helping the cause, we're all going to be providing and creating new opportunities for children around the world. And also, I'm going to be performing in the USA one more time this summer, so I'm going to be bringing my show to most of the cities where they're going to be games, where the games are going to be happening. So the good news is that we're going to be donating a dollar per ticket sold in all of these shows. So, you know, we're trying to do as much as we can to help, but I'm very, very excited. This is a lot of fun.”

16. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER FOOTBALLER, KAKA, SAYING:

“So I'm so happy that I'm part of this group that is using the World Cup to increase the education around the world. So I wish these kids can have a very good opportunity to grow, to dream, and also we can see some of them play one day in a big stage like the World Cup.”

17. EVENT HOST JENNY TAFT THANKING ATTENDEES