The World Cup closing ceremony opened with IShowSpeed in New Jersey as more than 80,000 fans awaited Spain vs. Argentina.
The World Cup closing ceremony opened with a performance from streamer IShowSpeed at New York New Jersey Stadium, where the build-up to the World Cup final drew a burst of color, music and celebrity attention. He was joined on the field by drummers and dancers in bright tracksuits.
Rapper and singer Post Malone followed with a performance of his song Wow. The event is taking place before Sunday’s final between Spain and Argentina, with more than 80,000 fans, celebrities and foreign dignitaries expected inside the stadium.
The pre-match show is also set to include actor Tom Cruise, along with singers Robbie Williams, Laura Pausini and Nicole Scherzinger. Pausini told the BBC’s Carl Nasman that she was excited and proud to perform with Williams and Scherzinger. She said she got goosebumps when Williams invited her to sing.
The entertainment will continue at half-time with Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira and BTS all scheduled to perform. Madonna is set to appear after the launch of her new album, Confessions II, which reached number one on the Billboard 200 in July. Bieber returned to major live performance earlier this year at Coachella after cancelling his Justice world tour because of health issues.
Shakira and Burna Boy are also due back on stage after performing at the opening ceremony in Mexico City last month. Their song Dai Dai became a regular feature on tournament sound systems, while BTS returns after a three-year break tied to mandatory military service in South Korea and is now in the middle of an 85-date world tour.
Fifa says the halftime break is expected to last 20 to 25 minutes, with the Super Bowl-style performance taking 11 minutes. The show was curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin and will help raise money for the Fifa Global Citizen Education Fund, which is working toward a $100 million goal for children worldwide. The takeaway: this is not just a final, but a global spectacle built to pull in viewers and funding at the same time.
