New York — Justin Bieber will join Madonna, Shakira and BTS as a headline performer for the 2026 FIFA World Cup's first-ever Super Bowl-style halftime show, FIFA announced Wednesday.
The 11-minute performance, curated by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, will take place during the World Cup final outside New York on July 19. Also confirmed for the lineup are Afrobeats star Burna Boy, Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel, and the PS22 Chorus — a choir of elementary school students from Staten Island — who will perform alongside Coldplay. Characters from *Sesame Street*, including Kermit and Miss Piggy, are also set to appear.
The show will benefit the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative aiming to raise $100 million to expand children's access to education and soccer worldwide.
"The FIFA World Cup brings the world together in a way nothing else can," Bieber said in a statement, adding that he was grateful the performance was already helping fund education access for children globally.
Burna Boy's inclusion carries particular significance: he and Shakira are behind "Dai Dai," this year's official World Cup song, a multilingual fusion of Afrobeats and Latin rhythms that name-checks several countries and players competing in the tournament. The track has topped charts and become a fixture at matches since the World Cup began last month. Burna Boy and Shakira, who both performed at the tournament's opening, are set to reunite on stage for the halftime show.
Calling the World Cup one of the few events that unites the entire world, Burna Boy described representing Africa on the first World Cup final halftime show as "a privilege and a responsibility that I don't take lightly."
Unlike the Super Bowl, halftime concerts are not typical in soccer — events such as the Champions League final have traditionally featured pre-match concerts instead — making this year's show a notable departure for the sport.
Bieber's appearance follows a period away from major touring. The 32-year-old canceled his *Justice* world tour amid health issues before returning to the stage this spring with a nostalgia-driven set at Coachella, his biggest live show in four years, during which he performed hits including "Baby," "Never Say Never," "One Time" and "Beauty and the Beat."