World Cup half-time show: Madonna, Shakira and K-pop’s BTS to headline

The halftime show of the Club World Cup final played between Chelsea and Paris St-Germain in the USA last summer lasted more than 24 minutes.

Pre-match performances have become commonplace at major events such as the Champions League final, but this will be the half-time show of a World Cup final.

Colombian pop star Shakira will release her official World Cup song Dai Dai on Thursday, an Italian phrase meaning “let’s go” or “come on” and also features Nigerian singer Burna Boy.

The 49-year-old Hips Don’t Lie singer also released Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) for the 2010 tournament in South Africa.

Madonna, the ‘Queen of Pop’, the best-selling female music artist of all time, is preparing to release her 15th album, Confessions II, on July 3.

In April, the 67-year-old actress made a surprise guest appearance at Sabrina Carpenter’s headlining performance for Vogue and Like A Prayer at the Coachella music festival.

Meanwhile, the seven members of BTS have become the best-selling music group in South Korean history, with sales of more than 45 million albums. They and Coldplay reached number three in the UK with My Universe in 2021.

The band, which made a comeback after taking a 3-year break from music to complete its compulsory military service, will perform at the finale and will be in the middle of an 85-day world tour.

In March, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the spectacle “will be a historic moment for the FIFA World Cup and befitting the world’s biggest sporting event.”

The halftime show is curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin and will raise money for the Fifa Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative trying to raise $100 million (£73 million) for children around the world.