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Shakira, Madonna, BTS, Justin Bieber & More Take Over FIFA’s First-Ever World Cup Final Halftime Show
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Madonna kicked things off in gloriously extra fashion, rolling in with DJ Stuart Price behind her while Brazilian legends Ronaldo and Ronaldinho appeared in a jeep with a license plate that read “Maestro,” because of course they did. From there, the show lurched — thrillingly, and at times hilariously — into Gustavo Dudamel leading players from the New York Philharmonic and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela through a dramatic take on The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army,” complete with flags, strings, color and Muppets in the mix.
BTS followed in matching red, motorcycle-inspired looks for a turbocharged “Dynamite,” before Jason Sudeikis, slipping back into Ted Lasso mode, introduced a notably subdued Justin Bieber for an acoustic “Everything Hallelujah.”
Then came the halftime show’s most natural stadium-pop peak: Shakira and Burna Boy tearing into the Billboard Global 200 chart-topper “Dai Dai,” backed by Ghetto Kids dancing. By the time the PS22 Chorus, Chris Martin, Kermit, Miss Piggy and the rest of the cast closed on a giant “LOVE” tableau with fireworks overhead, the whole thing felt slightly unhinged, deeply overstuffed and undeniably memorable.
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Here are the biggest highlights from each performance.
Madonna Opens in Full Pop-Monarch Mode
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, New Jersey.Carl Recine/Getty Images
Madonna opened the first-ever World Cup final halftime show the only way that made sense for Madonna: with zero interest in being understated. Roller skates, a DJ (Confessions on a Dance Floor and CONFESSIONS II producer Stuart Price), and a pink-on-pink setup set the tone immediately, from her outfit to the roller-rink feel of the stage. As she launched into “Music,” her Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 from 2000, backed by a DJ in a silky pink shirt that looked pulled from a glossy late-’90s club archive, the cameras caught Brazilian legends Ronaldo and Ronaldinho — yes, both Rons — riding in beside her in a jeep with a “Maestro” license plate. It was campy, flashy and knowingly over-the-top. The whole sequence had the gleeful, overdesigned energy of a stadium-size fever dream, and Madonna wasted no time making the show’s mission obvious: bigger, louder, flashier.
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Gustavo Dudamel Gives the Show Its Wildest Left Turn
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - JULY 19: Gustavo Dudamel attends the FIFA Gold Carpet before the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Global Citizen
If Madonna’s entrance set the tone, Gustavo Dudamel’s segment confirmed that this halftime show was going to treat tonal whiplash as an art form. Conducting musicians from the New York Philharmonic and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, Dudamel led a booming, colorful take on The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” that turned midfield into a maximalist symphonic playground. Flags waved, violins flashed, the stage exploded with color, and the Muppets joined the chaos, because apparently FIFA looked at this segment and decided “more” was the only acceptable creative note. The result was grand and ridiculously exhilarating.
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BTS Bring Precision, Leather and Stadium Scream Power
RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook of BTS 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, New Jersey.Carl Recine/Getty Images
Then came South Korean powerhouse BTS, who hit the field like they were determined to condense an arena tour into a few hyper-efficient minutes. Dressed in coordinated red and black looks and motorcycle-style leather jackets, with a prominent No. 7 detail nodding to the group, the K-pop superstars launched into “Dynamite” with polished, high-impact choreography and disco-ball energy. Their set moved fast, but nothing about it felt rushed in execution. Even dropped into a show built on abrupt pivots, BTS felt fully locked in — sharp, synchronized and fully aware that if you only get a sliver of halftime, you make it explode.
Justin Bieber Slows the Tempo — and It Works
Justin Bieber performs during the Topps Final Halftime Show the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.Buda Mendes/Getty Images
Introduced by Jason Sudeikis in a playful Ted Lasso-style setup, Justin Bieber took the opposite route from nearly everyone else on the bill. Armed with an acoustic guitar, he delivered a stripped-back version of “Everything Hallelujah” that leaned into intimacy rather than the usual spectacle. It was a sharp tonal pivot in the middle of a halftime show otherwise built on maximalism, but that contrast gave Bieber’s moment its own kind of power. With no giant theatrics to lean on, he let the song do the work — and in a setlist full of visual overload, the restraint stood out.
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Shakira and Burna Boy Deliver the Show’s Clearest Crowd-Pleaser
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, New Jersey.Dan Mullan/Getty Images
If there was a moment built to feel undeniably global, it was Shakira and Burna Boy performing “Dai Dai,” the official World Cup song and current Billboard Global 200 chart-topper. The Colombian superstar, once again proving she is basically FIFA royalty at this point, wore a hula-styled pink-and-yellow outfit with a beaded, sea-linked top that felt tropical, festive and built to move. Burna Boy matched her energy in a white shirt, gold chain, beanie, and signature dreads, bringing cool contrast to her kinetic command. Surrounded by Uganda’s Ghetto Kids and later joined by adult women of seemingly different nationalities for a unified choreography section, the performance had the biggest communal lift of the night. When Shakira shouted “¡Más fuerte!” into the chorus, the show finally felt less like a quick experiment and more like a proper stadium eruption.
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Finale with Chris Martin, the Muppets & More Goes Big, Earnest — and a Little Unhinged
Chris Martin performs 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, New Jersey.Elsa/Getty Images
For its closing stretch, the show stopped trying to top itself and simply threw everything on the field. The PS22 Chorus led the finale with “We Dance,” joined by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and a widening cast that eventually pulled in Shakira, BTS, Dudamel and more back at center stage. As the camera pulled out, the stage revealed the word LOVE, with the “O” rendered as a globe, pushing the show’s message with all the subtlety of a fireworks finale — which arrived seconds later. Children visibly outnumbered adults onstage, colorful fireworks erupted overhead, and the full cast waved through the final image. It was sentimental, crowded, slightly chaotic, and exactly the kind of oversized ending this wildly anticipated event needed.
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