World Cup 2026: schedules and confirmed artists for the unprecedented halftime show of the final

The anticipation to know the next world champion also moves this Sunday, July 19, to the entertainment field.

For the first time in the history of the Fifa World Cup, the final match will feature a mega musical show during the players’ halftime break, a logistical bet that emulates the format of American football and will bring together several of the most important stars of pop, rock, and classical music on the same stage.

(Video | Watch the goals from the 3-5 that England inflicted on France in the third-place match of the 2026 World Cup)

The epicenter of this technical deployment will be the New York New Jersey Stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The overall production of this artistic intervention will be under the direction of Chris Martin, the renowned vocalist of the British band Coldplay.

The volume of celebrities confirmed for the halftime minutes has raised doubts about the management of television time. Although the organization has planned a net duration of 11 minutes for the performances, various sector reports — without confirmation from Fifa — point out that the entire segment on the field could extend up to 25 or 30 minutes, considering the assembly and disassembly maneuvers of the stage. As a point of comparison, in the Super Bowl 2026 Halftime Show, the artist Bad Bunny’s presentation took 14 minutes of music, requiring a total of 25 minutes to erect and remove the entire structure from the field.

For this first experience at a global event, the roster of invited artists includes a mix of global rhythms and orchestral formats. According to the official lists issued by the organizing committee, the acts responsible for performing during the break are the following musical and cultural acts:

• The characters from “Sesame Street” and “The Muppets”

• Burna Boy

• Coldplay along with the PS22 choir

• Gustavo Dudamel

• Justin Bieber

• BTS

• Shakira

• Madonna

Regarding the main names of the day, Fifa stated in an official press release: “Madonna, Shakira, and BTS are international figures whose music transcends borders and generations. We are proud to welcome them to the first show in history during the halftime of a Fifa World Cup final.”

For his part, Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel announced on Instagram that he will also participate in the halftime show conducting the New York Philharmonic and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela. Likewise, the inclusion of the iconic television puppets responds to a strategic alliance that seeks to reinforce the purpose that all children have access to quality education through the Fifa Global Citizen Education Fund.

Before the ball rolls for the 90 minutes of play between the Spain and Argentina teams, the organization will carry out the traditional closing ceremony. This closing protocol is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m., Miami time; that is, exactly an hour and a half before the kickoff. Local authorities confirmed that the doors of the sports structure in New Jersey will open to the public from 10:00 a.m., Colombia time.

Regarding the cultural focus of this prior space, Heimo Schirgi, Operations Director of the 2026 Fifa World Cup, detailed in the same institutional statement: “The closing ceremony will evoke the same emotion with which the world was welcomed at the opening ceremonies in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The event will combine music, culture, and football, and will lead to the awaited match in which the champion of this historic competition will be proclaimed.”

For this protocol and pre-entertainment segment, the list of celebrities announced by the international federation includes the following names from cinema, music, and digital platforms:

• The YouTuber IShowSpeed

• Tom Cruise

• Nicole Scherzinger

• Jennifer Hudson

• Laura Pausini

• Robbie Williams

According to the organization’s planning, singers Laura Pausini and Robbie Williams will be responsible for jointly performing “Desire,” the official Fifa anthem for this edition. Meanwhile, artist Jennifer Hudson will sing a special version of the United States national anthem.

The kickoff for the match that will decide the 2026 World Cup is set for 2:00 p.m. Colombia time this Sunday. If the first half proceeds normally and without extraordinary interruptions, the estimated time for the halftime show to begin is between 2:50 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

For viewers and followers of the event in the different geographies of the continent and the world, the official start time of the grand final is distributed according to the following local time zones:

• Colombia, Peru, Panama, and Ecuador: 2:00 p.m.

• Mexico (Central), Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica: 1:00 p.m.

• Bolivia, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Paraguay, Chile: 3:00 p.m.

• United States (Miami time): 3:00 p.m.

• Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay: 4:00 p.m.

• Spain: 9:00 p.m.

*Article developed with AI support and reviewed by a journalist.