The 2026 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony took place on Friday night, 12 June 2026, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, United States, starting the tournament jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The ceremony featured a large multi-artist line-up drawn from Afrobeats, K-pop, Latin pop, and American hip-hop, with performances tied to the official World Cup album.
One of the central acts was Nigerian singer Rema, who performed the official tournament song “Goals” alongside BLACKPINK’s Lisa and Brazilian singer Anitta. The artistes wore coordinated white outfits with stadium lighting and large screen visuals showing football imagery and crowd reactions.
Lisa contributed a verse blending English and Korean lines, while Anitta added a Latin pop segment
During his verse, Rema performed the line: “I’m scoring goals in every city I go.” His section closed the track, with a slower camera pullback revealing the full stage and audience inside SoFi Stadium.
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
South African singer Tyla also appeared during the ceremony, performing “Game Time” with American rapper Future. The ceremony opened with Future’s solo segment, where he performed “Game Time” in front of a large illuminated World Cup trophy set piece before Tyla joined him for her verse. Tyla’s performance included the lyric: “It’s game time, we don’t fold under pressure.”
Other performers featured during the ceremony included additional global acts such as Colombian singer J Balvin, as well as Mexican artists Maná, Los Ángeles Azules, Alejandro Fernández, Lila Downs and Belinda, and Venezuelan singer Danny Ocean from the World Cup album rollout, with short performance segments integrated into a continuous broadcast format.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino commented on the significance of the ceremony ahead of the event, saying:
“This opening ceremony in Los Angeles represents the extraordinary scale of what the FIFA World Cup 2026 will become.”
He also spoke on the cultural intention behind the artist selection:
“The lineup of artists reflects the cultural diversity of the United States and the vibrancy of its many diasporas… showcasing the power of music to bring people together across the country.”
He added: “This is not just a World Cup. This will be the biggest and greatest FIFA World Cup in history.”
The production used fireworks, stadium-wide lighting changes, and synchronized crowd visuals to transition between acts.
The event ended shortly before the United States’ opening match against Paraguay.
FIFA has confirmed that the World Cup final on Sunday, 19 July 2026 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey will feature the first-ever official halftime show, headlined by BTS, Madonna, and Shakira, with production curated by Chris Martin of Coldplay.
