Break even longer?
Another pop star agrees to perform on Infantino’s halftime show
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July 9, 2026 | 12:06 am
Gianni Infantino and FIFA are counting on a big show at the World Cup. This also applies to the first half of the World Cup final. In addition to Shakira and Madonna, another pop star agreed.
First Madonna and Shakira, now Justin Bieber: the line-up for the first-ever World Cup finals halftime show in New Jersey is getting more prominent. The FIFA World Association has introduced the Canadian pop star as another character. With the high-profile Super Bowl-style program also featuring K-pop group BTS and Coldplay with a school choir, concerns are growing over how long the halftime break could be extended before the July 19 finale.
According to the organizers, the stars’ performance should last eleven minutes, but the usual fifteen minutes for setting up and dismantling the stage will probably not be enough. At last year’s Club World Cup dress rehearsal, when the half-time show was presented for the first time at MetLife Stadium, the break lasted 24 minutes. The program is reminiscent of the halftime show typically held at the Super Bowl, the NFL’s title finale. The US Football League manages to attract megastars year after year; The most famous show to this day is Michael Jackson’s performance in 1993.
Cute best friends shaking football
FIFA president Gianni Infantino had previously raved that the half-time show would be “definitely the biggest stage ever” – with “several billions” of TV viewers worldwide. After all, this spectacle has a good cause: FIFA wants to raise $100 million for children for its global education fund. The program also includes characters from Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, as well as Nigerian singer Burna Boy and Venezuelan classical conductor Gustavo Dudamel.
Sources used: ntv.de, mar/sid.