Experts Think 1 Artist Will Be ‘Heavily Involved’ in the World Cup Halftime Show
In 2026, the FIFA World Cup will have a Super Bowl-style halftime show for the first time. Coldplay will help put the show together, but the headlining act has yet to be announced. Entertainment betting experts have a strong feeling that one artist will be involved, though.
Betting experts anticipate one artist is the most likely choice for the World Cup halftime show
On July 19, an artist will perform a halftime show at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for the World Cup. At this point, betting experts see one artist as the clear front runner for the headlining spot: The Weeknd.
“The Weeknd ticks all the boxes for a World Cup Final performance with his global reach, recent experience on big stages and a catalogue of hits,” entertainment betting expert Jake Ashton from OLBG tells us. “At -120, the market clearly expects him to be heavily involved if available.”
Other artists they believe are in the running include Drake, Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, and Lady Gaga.
This is the first time the World Cup will have a halftime show
This year’s World Cup will have the first-ever halftime show. FIFA president Gianni Infantino said a “list of artists” will perform at the event.
“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,” he 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.”
He noted that FIFA will also “take over” Times Square during the tournament. He thanked Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Phil Harvey for their help with the performances.
“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.”
The Weeknd has also headlined the Super Bowl halftime show
The Weeknd has halftime show experience. In 2021, he headlined the Super Bowl halftime show. He spoke about his intentions for the performance ahead of the show.
“I definitely want to be respectful to the viewers at home,” he said, per Billboard. “I will still incorporate some of the story line [from the videos] — it’s a very cohesive story I’m telling throughout this year, so the story will continue, but we definitely will keep it PG-[rated] for the families. I’ll try my best.”
He reportedly contributed $7 million of his own money to “make this halftime show be what he envisioned.” He notably had no guest performers during his performance.
