Justin Bieber has joined the star-studded list of half-time performers who will close out the 2026 World Cup in New York.
The Canadian pop star will perform alongside Madonna, Shakira and K-pop ensemble BTS during the tournament’s first-ever, Super Bowl-style half-time show on 19 July.
Burna Boy, Gustavo Dudamel and the PS22 Chorus featuring Coldplay, and the Sesame Street muppets are also set to appear during the 11-minute set, which supports the Fifa Global Citizen Education Fund.
“The FIFA World Cup brings the world together in a way nothing else can,” Bieber said.
In the spring, the Yukon and Peaches singer returned to the stage with a nostalgia-fuelled setat the Coachella festival in California – his biggest live show in four years after cancelling his Justice world tour following health issues.
The 32-year-old spent much of the April gig sitting in front of a laptop and singing to YouTube music videos of his older hits, such as Baby, Never Say Never, One Time and Beauty and the Beat.
The Fifa half-time show has been curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin and will raise money for the Fifa Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative working to raise $100m (£73m) for children worldwide.
Colombian pop star Shakira and Nigerian musician Burna Boy – who were among the performers who opened the tournament across the three North America host nations – will also return to the stage together.
Their global hit Dai Dai has dominated music charts and become a fixture at matches since the tournament launched on 11 June.
The biggest-ever tournament kicked off with 48 teams playing across Mexico, Canada and the US, but the national teams for all three host nations have since been eliminated.
Eight teams remain as the quarter finals resume on Thursday when France meet Morocco in Boston.
Spain and Belgium face off in Los Angeles on Friday and Norway and England meet in Miami on Saturday. Defending world champion Argentina plays Switzerland in Kansas City on Saturday as well.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi leads the tournament’s Golden Boot race with eight goals, and has already made history several times over the weeks.
He is trailed by Kylian Mbappé of France and Norway’s Erling Haaland, who both have seven goals, and England’s Harry Kane who has six.
By BBC News
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