For 96 years, the FIFA World Cup final had no halftime show. On July 19, 2026, Madonna, BTS, Justin Bieber, Shakira, Burna Boy, the Muppets and a Venezuelan conductor fixed that - in 11 minutes, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The first-ever FIFA World Cup Final Halftime Show, curated by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, directed by Hamish Hamilton, and produced by FIFA and Global Citizen, was built to raise funds toward a $100 million target for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund  which aims to expand access to quality education and football for children worldwide.

‍Madonna opened the show the way she tends to open things - on her own terms. In a pre-recorded segment, she arrived through the stadium tunnels in a dune buggy driven by Brazilian legends Ronaldinho and Ronaldo, singing a reworked version of her 2000 hit “Music” fused with elements of "Disco Inferno" and "Danceteria," before appearing on the pitch to hand over to Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel. Dudamel, in a custom pinstripe suit with his name and the number "1" on the back, styled like a football jersey,led musicians from the New York Philharmonic and Venezuela's Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra through "Seven Nation Army," with The Muppets' Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem alongside them.

‍BTS followed in matching red motorcycle-inspired looks, delivering a turbocharged performance of their hit 'Dynamite' with rewritten football-themed lyrics. Then Ted Lasso’sJason Sudeikis in character, alongside Brendan Hunt as Coach Beard, appeared on the field to introduce Justin Bieber, who took the volume down with a soulful, solo acoustic rendition of ”Everything Hallelujah” from his Swag II album, just him and a guitar on the world's biggest stage.

The show's peak came next when Shakira, in pink and yellow sparkles, took the field with Burna Boy and Uganda's Ghetto Kids for ”Dai Dai” - the official song of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, performed live for the second time this tournament after its debut at the Mexico City opening ceremony on June 11. For Burna Boy, the moment carried specific weight. "To represent Africa on the first-ever FIFA World Cup Final Halftime Show is a privilege and a responsibility that I don't take lightly," he said ahead of the performance.

Chris Martin himself closed the show alongside the PS22 Chorus - the viral New York elementary school choir - Kermit, Miss Piggy and the rest of the Muppets cast, the field filling into a giant "LOVE" tableau as fireworks went off overhead. The whole thing ran just a few seconds over the allotted 11 minutes, giving none of the headliners more than roughly two minutes on the field - and somehow still delivering one of the most talked-about halftime shows in recent memory.

As Billboard put it, the show was "slightly unhinged, deeply overstuffed and undeniably memorable." Ninety-six years was a long time to wait. The 11 minutes made it count.

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