Recently, it was announced that the World Cup will have its first ever halftime show during its final game on July 19 at MetLife Stadium. It will be headlined by Madonna, Shakira, and BTS and is expected to be 11 minutes long.
FIFA said that the show would support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which is raising $100 million to help children have access to education and soccer. Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, said it would bring together, “music and football on the biggest stage in sport for a very special cause.” He also says, “not everyone can become a world champion, but everyone can become a little bit better by having the right education. So we embrace that.”
For the halftime show and the education fund, FIFA has partnered with the nonprofit organization Global Citizen. Hugh Evans, the CEO of Global Citizen, said that Coldplay’s Chris Martin, who is also the show’s curator, was the one who came up with this show 4 years ago while watching the last World Cup. Martin appeared in a video announcing the halftime show along with Elmo, Cookie Monster, Kermit the Frog, and other beloved characters from Sesame Street and the Muppets. In the video, Martin informs Elmo and the others about the show and asks them who should be in it. They eventually decide to pick Madonna, BTS (who briefly appearing in the video through a phone call with Elmo and Martin), and Shakira.
There are currently reports that the Sesame Street and Muppets characters could appear as special guests during the halftime show. Other musical guests are also set to appear at this year’s World Cup but instead of appearing at the halftime show, they will appear at the opening ceremonies that begin on June 11th and June 12th and are set all across North America in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. These musical guests include Katy Perry, J Balvin, Future, Alessia Cara, and Michael Bublè.
One big question still remains though: will the World Cup’s first ever halftime show be a huge success or will it be a massive failure? Only time will tell.
