FIFA announces Super Bowl-style halftime show for 2026 World Cup Final, produced by Global Citizen

FIFA and Global Citizen announced during the Global Citizen Festival on Saturday.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup Final will feature a Super Bowl-style halftime show produced by Global Citizen, as announced by FIFA and Global Citizen during the Global Citizen Festival on Saturday.

Global Citizen, a group focused on organizing entertainment events to combat world hunger, has a four-year partnership with FIFA, and the 2026 Final will mark the first collaboration between the two organizations.

"FIFA’s mission is to develop football in every corner of the world and to have a positive impact on society,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement to Variety. “Through this partnership, FIFA and Global Citizen will bring together the worlds of sport and entertainment to actively contribute to a better world. We are committing to a series of joint activities that will help promote access to football and engage fans of the sport in an effort to create positive change in their local communities.”

Celebrities Hugh Jackman, DJ Khaled, and Gayle King were present alongside Infantino and Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans as the announcement was made.

FIFA has two major events lined up in North America in 2025 and 2026, with the details of the Club World Cup revealed on Saturday and the 2026 World Cup scheduled to begin in June of that year.

The idea of a halftime show for the widely watched World Cup final has been a topic of speculation. Earlier this year, The New York Times ran an article titled: “Would a half-time show work for the World Cup or Champions League final?” Now, FIFA and Global Citizen have confirmed it: The decision was as obvious as many expected, despite some skeptics who doubted that European audiences would tolerate the extended halftime format common in American NFL games.