Coldplay will be helping choose acts to perform at the first ever World Cup half-time show in 2026.
Next year’s World Cup tournament will be co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico with the final set to take place on July 19 2026 at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. The planned half-time show would be in the same style as the iconic Super Bowl half-time shows.
Though pre-match performances at specific occasions such as the Champions League final are common, there has never been a proper mid-game performance break.
During the Super Bowl half-time shows, artists perform a 15-minute set which usually includes a few surprise guests. Usually 25-30 minutes are allocated for the full show so that the stage and equipment can be built and dismantled.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed that Chris Martin as well as Coldplay’s manager Phil Harvey will help in the selection of artists to perform during the 15-minute break at the final (per BBC).
“I can confirm the first ever half-time show at a Fifa World Cup final in New York New Jersey,” Infantino wrote on Instagram.”This will be a historic moment for the Fifa World Cup and a show befitting the biggest sporting event in the world.”
Coldplay are no stranger to the Super Bowl half-time show as they were the performers for the 2016 sporting event at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. Their headlining slot saw them bring out Beyoncé and Bruno Mars. The former performed her track ‘Formation’ while the latter performed his hit ‘Uptown Funk’.
This year’s Super Bowl Halftime performance saw Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar take the stage. Lamar made history by becoming the first solo rapper to headline the coveted Halftime Show.
It was also revealed that Lamar’s showcase is now the most-watched Halftime Show ever, per Apple Music and Roc Nation. The performance clocked in a whopping 133.5million viewers live during the event, and has since amassed over 96million views on YouTube and countless other views across social media since the performance wrapped.
The title of most-watched Halftime Show was previously held by Usher, who raked in 129.3million viewers, beating out previous title-holder Rihanna for 121million viewers.
In other news, Coldplay are one of the many UK bands to be included in London’s brand new ‘Live Odyssey’ immersive experience.