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After two months of preparation for the first-ever FIFA World Cup halftime show, it's now over just as quickly as it began.
Initially announced in May and curated by Coldplay's Chris Martin in collaboration with the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, the goal of the show was to fundraise and expand access to education and football for kids worldwide. The early announcement named Madonna, Shakira, and BTS as co-headliners.
Later, Justin Bieber and other guests were invited to participate. The stacked lineup also featured Burna Boy and Triplets Ghetto Kids, a Ugandan dance troupe, to perform the World Cup anthem "Dai Dai" alongside Shakira. Conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the PS 22 Chorus rounded out the bill, alongside cameos from The Muppets band, and Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.
The newly added halftime show extended the traditional 15-minute break to 30 minutes, and the actual show clocked in around 11 minutes and 20 seconds, with the expanded time included for stage setup and breakdown.
Did everyone really perform at the halftime show?
They sure did, and it was pretty impressive how they packed everyone in at just 11 minutes. The special cameos also didn't disappoint, from the Muppets band performance, Sesame Street audience members, or Uganda's Triplets Ghetto Kids dance group.
The halftime show opened up with Madonna inside the stadium, with a roller derby set up that eventually gave way to an almost "subway" type of feel while she sang her hit song "Music." The queen of pop then hopped on an ATV driven by Brazilian legends and World Cup winners Ronaldo and Ronaldinho out of the stadium tunnels and onto the field.
She and the players then "handed over" the show to conductor Gustavo Dudamel, his symphony performers, and The Muppets band for a pretty memorable rendition of "Seven Nation Army," before shouting out a top moment from this year's tournament, Norway's Viking Row.
The Muppets and the symphony then "passed" the show over to K-pop group BTS, who performed their crossover hit "Dynamite," and the group gave way to TV soccer coach Ted Lasso for an introduction to Justin Bieber.
Bieber's addition to the halftime lineup was announced closer to the World Cup final, and his introduction in the show appeared as a moment to slow down the tempo of the show before the World Cup anthem queen, Shakira. Bieber opted to sing "Everything Hallelujah," and even mixed up the lyrics a bit to say "It's the World Cup, hallelujah."
To lift the show back up, the last big headliner was the penultimate act, with Shakira performing the 202 World Cup anthem "Dai Dai" alongside Burna Boy and dance group the Triplet Ghetto Kids.
The song has taken over the summer tournament, was performed during opening ceremonies, and has since been used as the walkout song for teams as they take the pitch for national anthems. The performance was one that felt familiar for die-hards who watched the entire tournament, and casuals who are into the pop culture of a big moment. Even Sesame Street's Cookie Monster couldn't look away.
They closed out with the award-winning Staten Island, New York, elementary school choir, PS 22. Coldplay's Chris Martin came out with the children. As a video of football icon Pele played, Martin preached about peace and love, reiterating the word "love over" before all broke out in song, saying "we believe in love," as all the artists joined the kids in song and a fireworks show to conclude the event.
Love it or hate it, it happened
Whether you are someone who grew up with the concept of halftime shows and watching them in the Super Bowl, or a believer that all new entertainment additions in the modern game are ruining the game of football altogether, the 2026 FIFA World Cup halftime show happened whether or not you are someone who was or was not in support of it.
It's not surprising that there's a somewhat split reaction to the halftime show in general. The whole idea is very American and rooted in Super Bowl pop culture. What place could it have in the global game? Let alone the biggest game in the sport?
The blatant truth that many are choosing to ignore is that soccer's influence has been mainstream for decades. There have always been pomp and celebration, and even World Cup songs, from Chile's "Rock del Mundial" by Los Ramblers in 1962, or even Mexico 86, but they really became a part of World Cup tradition in the 90's. There have nearly always been opening ceremonies with big performances; there were three separate ones for the 2026 tournament alone.
FIFA's official anthems started with the 1990s "Un'estate italiana" / "To Be Number One" by Edoardo Bennato and Gianna Nannini, Giorgio Moroder Project, featuring Paul Engemann, but truly cemented themselves in 1998 when Ricky Martin was commissioned for France 1998 and performed "La Copa de la Vida" / "The Cup of Life"
So slowly, but surely, there have always been some sort of entertainment-based component to the competition, and in an effort to expand more interest, FIFA had its first-ever World Cup halftime show.
Halftime show grade: B
Whether or not there are people who liked it or disliked it doesn't matter in the end. There are plenty of those opinions on both sides of the debate. The bigger question is whether the World Cup halftime show was a success, and the answer is a giant yes, all opinions aside.
Was the timeline expanded to fulfill the moment? Yes. Did it also start and wrap up on time? Also, yes. Was there something for everyone to get into, from women and children to commiserating curmudgeons? Very much yes. If you disagree, then congratulations on truly being the least fun person at any party.
Just like the Super Bowl, the in-stadium performance might have felt quick and hectic and not quite easy to follow along. It was a major criticism of the Ultra-mega-successful Bad Bunny Super Bowl performance that the storytelling fell a little short for the thousands inside the facility. You know where it didn't fall short. The millions and millions of viewers who tuned in for that halftime show.
There are an estimated two billion viewers who tuned into the World Cup, quite possibly for the halftime show, considering just two nations compete in the final, and the first half of the game was a complete insufferable snoozefest that needed to be rescued for anyone who didn't have a personal stake in the match.
The game got more dramatic in the second half and in extra time. If there were peaks or even drops before or following the halftime show, it would be an additional interesting note. With the 100-year celebration planned for the next World Cup in 2030, it's hard to believe that there won't be a new tradition brewing for future World Cups.
A first-time halftime show, with a ton of performers, a diverse lineup, different genres of music, and finished on time? An easy, solid grade B.
