Chris Martin and The Muppets Reveal Star-Studded World Cup Halftime Lineup

Madonna, Shakira and BTS have officially been announced as the co-headliners for the first ever FIFA World Cup Final Halftime Show.

The World Cup final is scheduled to take place on Sunday July 19 at MetLife Stadium. For the very first time in FIFA World Cup history, the final will feature a major halftime performance inspired by the large scale entertainment productions traditionally associated with the Super Bowl.

Leading the creative direction for the debut halftime event is Chris Martin of Coldplay, who confirmed the headline performers in a new social media video.

Martin shared the announcement alongside Elmo and Cookie Monster, who enthusiastically suggested Madonna and BTS for the lineup while jokingly placing a speed dial call to the K-pop group. The reveal also included appearances from Kermit the Frog, Animal, Miss Piggy and Statler and Waldorf, who proposed Shakira as part of the star packed lineup.

Additional details about the performance are expected to arrive at a later date, although the halftime show is reportedly set to run for approximately 11 minutes.

The event will also help support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, a major initiative aiming to raise $100million to improve access to education and football opportunities for children around the world.

So far, the initiative has already raised more than $30million, with $1 from every ticket sold for FIFA World Cup 2026 matches set to be donated throughout the competition.

Last week, FIFA and Global Citizen announced the first organisations selected to receive grants from the program. More information about the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund and its first grantees is available now, alongside details for the next application cycle.

In other Chris Martin news, earlier this year Coldplay donated a collection of concert photography to support a fundraiser for Tiny Changes, the charity created in memory of late Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit, who died by suicide in 2018.

Not long before that, the band also released a short film titled In-Between, which focused on the refugee crisis and featured music from Moon Music. The project was created together with Choose Love, a UK based non governmental organisation that supports and advocates for refugees worldwide.

Last July, Chris Martin also joined Tems, Doja Cat, Emmanuel Kelly and J Balvin during a performance connected to the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain.

Coldplay originally launched their massive Music Of The Spheres World Tour in March 2022. The tour later became the highest grossing rock tour in history after surpassing $1billion in revenue, and the band have now added new dates extending into 2027.