Alanis Morissette, Alessia Cara and Michael Bublé were among the Canadian artists to kick off the 2026 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in Toronto.
The first game of the tournament to be held in Canada took place last night (June 12) in Toronto Stadium, with Canada – who are co-hosting alongside the USA and Mexico – taking on Bosnia and Herzegovina in the country’s opening match.
Cara was the first to appear on stage in an elaborate performance that included dancers waving flags as well as art pieces that represented Canadian wildlife. She also played ‘Wild Things’ from her 2016 debut album.
Later, singer Nora Fatehi, DJ Sanjoy, and rapper Vegedream took the stage to perform ‘Siir’, which appears on the official FIFA World Cup 2026 album. It was followed by Elyanna and Jessie Reyez performing another single from the album, ‘Illuminate’.
Afterwards, Morissette appeared to sing the Canadian national anthem, ‘O Canada’, followed by Yugoslavia’s Aleksandar Gajić, who played the Bosnian and Herzegovinan national anthem on violin.
Finally, Bublé closed out the show with the Sole Power Choir to perform his rendition of Sam Cooke’s ‘Bring It On Home to Me’ – check it out below.
Confira a performance completa da Alessia Cara na abertura da Copa do Mundo no Canadá 🇨🇦 #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/5SZtU59b7x
— ACBR 🥀 (@acbrmidia) June 12, 2026
— Nora Fatehi (@norafatehi) June 13, 2026
Canadian @MichaelBuble performs in Toronto ahead of the FIFA World Cup 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/qyz15YuhlN
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 12, 2026
Meanwhile, on Thursday (June 11), Shakira, Burna Boy and J Balvin lit up the opening ceremony in Mexico, while the US opening ceremony saw performances by Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, Lisa, Rema, and Tyla.
Shakira will also be part of the first ever World Cup Final Halftime Show on July 19 in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, she will be joined by Madonna and BTS for the show.
Noel Gallagher is one who will not be watching the Halftime Show, claiming that he will be “doing the half-time raffle for a leg of lamb” instead.
In other music-related World Cup news, Baddiel, Skinner & Lightning Seeds have announced a 30th anniversary re-release of ‘Three Lions’, as England head into another World Cup this summer, and John Barnes has revealed the audio clips from 1990, showing Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne and Peter Beardsley attempting his iconic rap for ‘World in Motion’.
Belle & Sebastian have also shared a buoyant 2026 Scotland World Cup anthem ‘It Only Takes One Lion’, and frontman Stuart Murdoch told NME about his hopes for the team.