FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed that the World Cup 2026 final will have a half-time show. Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Phil Harvey are likely to play a major role in designing the show. The final will be taking place on July 19 in New York.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed that the 2026 World Cup final will feature its first-ever half-time show, similar to what happens during the Super Bowl. The United States of America will co-host the tournament alongside Mexico and Canada and to popularize the sport in the continent, such a step is likely to be materialized.
Infantino took to Instagram to announce the details and noted that Coldplay’s Chris Martin will play a key role in designing the event, which will take place in New York. He noted that football will take over the Times Square as well during the final week as the fans can watch the Bronze Medal match and the final is likely to be streamed.
“I can confirm the first ever half-time show at a FIFA World Cup final in New York New Jersey, in association with Global Citizen. This will be a historic moment for the FIFA World Cup and a show befitting the biggest sporting event in the world. We also spoke about how FIFA will takeover Times Square for the final weekend of the FIFA World Cup in 2026, during both the bronze final match and final,” Infantino wrote on Instagram.
My thanks of course to Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans and his incredible team, for helping us put together these amazing shows. I also want to thank Chris Martin and Phil Harvey of Coldplay, who will be working with us at FIFA to finalise the list of artists who will perform during the half time show, as well as at Times Square,” he added.
Notably, the FIFA World Cup 2026 will begin on June 11, with the final slated to take place on July 19. The governing body has also increased the number of participating nations in 2026, resulting in 104 matches to be played next year, instead of only 64.
