Shakira headlines the first-ever FIFA World Cup Final halftime show on July 19. Before MetLife Stadium, here is what she said about coming back to the world's biggest stage.

On May 14, 2026, Shakira walked into Spring Studios in New York for the Global Citizen NOW Summit and confirmed what the announcement video with Elmo had already told the world: she will headline the first-ever FIFA World Cup Final halftime show at MetLife Stadium on July 19, alongside BTS and Madonna.

This is not her first World Cup. It is not her first halftime show. But it is the first time both of those things happen at once, on the same stage, in front of a projected two billion viewers.

If you have been following what the FIFA World Cup 2026 is building toward, Shakira at the halftime show is not a booking. It is the only name that could have made this feel inevitable.

Before July 19, here is what she said.

On Being Part of the Halftime Show

First of all, I'm honored to be performing alongside Madonna and BTS. I think that this is going to be completely different from the Super Bowl experience, which, by the way, it was incredible for me."

Shakira knows what a halftime show feels like. She says this one will be completely different.

The Super Bowl she is referring to is Super Bowl LIV in Miami in 2020, which she co-headlined with Jennifer Lopez in one of the most-watched halftime performances in the event's history. She is setting the expectation that the World Cup Final will be different, not lesser. Different in what way is the question July 19 will answer.

 
On What the Show Is Trying to Do

Global Citizen cofounder and CEO Hugh Evans described the vision behind the show: "The dream of this started four years ago at the last World Cup, when Chris called me and said that it would be incredible if we could work together with FIFA to create the first ever halftime show for the World Cup final. And really the thing that the process that went into curating how it could come together was focused on the value of unity. We said, at a time when the world can feel so divided, we wanted to have a moment where, if you look down on planet Earth and you saw this halftime show, you would feel this incredible spirit of unity."

Shakira is the right person for that brief. Her career has always been the argument that music does not have borders. Waka Waka in 2010 became the soundtrack of an entire continent's summer. Hips Don't Lie reached people who did not know her name before they heard it. Dai Dai, her official 2026 World Cup song recorded with Burna Boy, is the third chapter of that relationship with the tournament.

The Italian phrase means "come on, come on," with the chorus featuring similar translations in several languages. The choice of a phrase that means the same thing across multiple languages for a tournament played across three countries is either a coincidence or exactly the point.

 
On Dai Dai and What the Profits Go Toward

Shakira Dai Dai FIFA World Cup 2026 official song Burna Boy halftime show July 19

Shakira announced that 100 percent of the profits from Dai Dai would go towards the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, along with one dollar from every ticket sold to her 2026 US tour. The fund aims to raise 100 million dollars to expand access to quality education and football for children worldwide.

That decision is worth noting separately from the performance. Shakira is not just performing at the World Cup. She is using the platform the World Cup gives her to direct money toward children who will never attend a match at MetLife Stadium.

FIFA described her as a "World Cup icon," highlighting her ability to connect Latin music with global audiences. She has performed the World Cup anthem twice. She will perform at the World Cup Final once. If the halftime show lands the way the 2010 South Africa experience did, that once will be enough to define what World Cup halftime shows look like for the next decade.

July 19. MetLife Stadium. The first halftime show in 97 years of World Cup history.

 
You Might Also Want to Read :
FIFA World Cup 2026 Halftime Show: BTS, Madonna, Shakira — rsvpclique.com

 
July 19 Is Coming.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 Final halftime show takes place July 19 at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey. Follow @shakira for performance updates 

Sources of Photos :
All photography from Shakira's Global Citizen NOW Summit appearance and FIFA World Cup 2026 documentation was sourced from official artist accounts.

Shakira Official Instagram — @shakira