FIFA’s first-ever World Cup Final halftime show will feature multiple artists

The 2026 World Cup Final has a halftime show, and now it has a curator.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed in a new interview with Semafor’s Max Tani that the July 19 final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford will feature a halftime show — the first in World Cup Final history — curated by Chris Martin and Coldplay. Infantino would not reveal which artists are performing beyond that.

“I cannot yet tell you which artists will be performing, but it’s not one, it’s more than one,” he said. “And it will be the biggest in the world. It will be fantastic.”

The halftime show was first announced in March, when Infantino posted on Instagram, confirming that it would be produced in association with Global Citizen and that Martin and Coldplay’s Phil Harvey would work with FIFA to finalize the artist lineup. This sitdown with Semfaor is the first time Infantino has publicly acknowledged it in any detail, confirming that multiple artists are involved and that Martin is the creative force shaping what the show looks and sounds like. He also noted that FIFA will take over Times Square for the final weekend, with the Final and the bronze medal match shown live on screens in midtown Manhattan.

While the World Cup attempts to take over the American cultural calendar this summer, it remains to be seen whether a halftime show helmed by a British rock band is what finally makes it stick. No word yet from Turning Point USA on whether Chris Martin is sufficiently patriotic for the job.