Chris Martin curates the historic New York New Jersey Stadium performance as FIFA introduces halftime entertainment tied to a global education fund.
For the first time in its history, the FIFA World Cup final will pause for a halftime show.
It happens July 19, 2026, at New York New Jersey Stadium, and it marks a clear shift in how the tournament’s biggest moment is staged. The segment is being curated by Chris Martin, with production from Global Citizen alongside Live Nation and Done + Dusted. It will broadcast live worldwide, placing the performance directly into what is already one of the most-watched sporting events on the planet.
The headliners span eras and genres: Madonna, Shakira, and BTS. Three acts with entirely different cultural footprints, now sharing the same 15-minute window in football’s final match.
Behind the spectacle sits a more structured agenda. The show is tied to the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative under FIFA aiming to raise $100 million for education and football programs for children worldwide. More than $30 million has already been raised, and the model includes a $1 contribution from every World Cup ticket sold, turning attendance itself into a funding mechanism.
That framing is intentional. In announcing the project, FIFA President Gianni Infantino described it as a moment where the world’s biggest match meets a wider social mission, linking the final not just to sport and entertainment, but to education access on a global scale.
Chris Martin’s role is positioned less as a traditional music director and more as a connector. The concept is built around “togetherness,” with the idea that the stage should feel open rather than exclusive—something closer to a shared cultural broadcast than a conventional halftime slot.
There are also elements designed specifically to underline the education theme. Characters from Sesame Street and The Muppets will appear during the show, reinforcing the focus on learning and childhood development in a way that reaches younger viewers directly.
On the governance side, the initiative is backed by a high-profile advisory board that extends well beyond football or music. It includes figures such as Serena Williams, Kaká, The Weeknd, Ivanka Trump, and others—an unusual mix that reflects how broadly the project is trying to position itself across culture, sport, and philanthropy.
The result is a halftime moment that is doing more than filling space between halves. It is being built as a parallel headline to the final itself—one that blends entertainment scale with fundraising infrastructure, and puts global pop culture directly inside football’s most-watched stage. Whether it enhances the occasion or overwhelms it will only be clear once the world is watching.
For more information about the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, click here