The US World Cup opening ceremony kicked off yesterday (June 12). Find out what went down below.
- READ MORE: Katy Perry – ‘143’ review: a pop star struggles to relocate her old sense of fun
This year’s World Cup takes place between June 11 and July 19, across 16 cities in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, marking the first time the tournament has been co-hosted across multiple countries.
Yesterday marked the opening match between the United States and Paraguay, which was preceded by a grand, star-studded opening ceremony kicked off by Future and Tyla.
The two stars took to the stage after the huge FIFA World Cup trophy was shown on the field, with Future immediately launching into ‘Game Time’ from the official FIFA World Cup 2026 album. Tyla soon joined to deliver her verse from the track.
They were followed by BLACKPINK‘s Lisa, Brazilian icon Anitta, and Nigerian icon Rema, who performed ‘Goals’ – another track from the album – together.
Shortly before kickoff, Katy Perry then took to the stage alongside 10-year-old Norwegian singer Tius Luka. The duo performed ‘Wonder’, from Perry’s most recent album ‘143‘.
In an Instagram clip shared ahead of the performance, Perry said that Luka recorded his part of the song in 2021 when he was five years old. “I heard his vocal in 2023 and was inspired to write the verses for ‘Wonder’ and added it to my sixth album,” she wrote. “Tius is 10 now and flew all the way to LA from Norway to sing this song with me.”
Meanwhile, on Thursday (June 11), Shakira, Burna Boy and J Balvin lit up the opening ceremony in Mexico, while the Canada opening ceremony saw performances from Alanis Morissette, Alessia Cara and Michael Bublé.
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.
