by Ada Maria Francesca Romeo
The FIFA World Cup 2026 made history with its first-ever halftime show, bringing together Madonna, BTS, Justin Bieber, Shakira and Burna Boy in a spectacular celebration of music, fashion and performance. From Saint Laurent to Roberto Cavalli and Skylrk, every look was as memorable as the performances themselves.
On July 19, New York New Jersey Stadium hosted the highly anticipated FIFA World Cup 2026 Final between Spain and Argentina. While the match saw Spain crowned world champions, it also marked a defining moment for entertainment, transforming football’s biggest stage into a global pop culture event.
For the first time in the tournament’s 96-year history, the World Cup introduced a Super Bowl-style halftime show, bringing together music, fashion and spectacle in an unprecedented celebration.
The festivities began 90 minutes before kick-off with a pre-match show produced by Balich Wonder Studio. Among its standout moments was a special appearance by Tom Cruise, echoing his memorable handover performance at the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Jennifer Hudson delivered a powerful rendition of the U.S. national anthem, while Laura Pausini, Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger performed Desire, FIFA’s official anthem.
Creatively directed by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, the halftime show marked a historic first for the World Cup. Beyond the performances, the event also supported the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, a landmark initiative aiming to raise $100 million to expand access to quality education and football for children around the world.
Madonna opened the show wearing a custom pink Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello look, delivering exactly the kind of larger-than-life entrance fans have come to expect. Her outfit featured a satin crepe Teddy jacket layered over a silver bra and a pink corset-style waist cincher, paired with Silk Habutai mini shorts and metallic leather lace-up boots. She completed the look with silver sunglasses and shiny fuchsia fingerless gloves. Introduced alongside Brazilian football legends Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, the trio crossed the field in a jeep bearing a license plate reading “Maestro,”immediately setting the tone for a production built on spectacle.
Photo courtesy of Saint Laurent.
The spotlight then shifted to conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who led musicians from the New York Philharmonic and Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra in a cinematic orchestral rendition of Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes, delivering one of the evening’s most visually striking moments.
The energy surged once again as BTS took over the stage in coordinated red, white and black football-inspired kits, performing an explosive rendition of Dynamite that lit up the stadium.
The mood softened moments later when Justin Bieber stripped things back for an intimate performance of Everything Hallelujah, accompanying himself on guitar and delivering one of the show’s most emotional highlights. For the occasion, he wore a custom look by Skylrk, the brand he founded, featuring a layered dark green and white polo paired with the label’s Raw Denim Shorts, knee-length indigo denim shorts. He completed the outfit with slouchy socks worn over a pair of unreleased Matter Daddy sneakers in the Latte colorway and Speed Demon sunglasses, adding a subtle retro edge. Skylrk also custom-designed his in-ear monitor and guitar strap, extending the brand’s identity beyond the clothing itself.
One of the night’s standout moments belonged to Shakira, who took the stage alongside Burna Boy for an electrifying performance of Dai Dai, accompanied by the infectious choreography of the Ghetto Kids. The Colombian superstar wore a custom Roberto Cavalli look designed by Creative Director Fausto Puglisi.
The two-piece ensemble featured the house’s signature bodysuit with a plunging criss-cross neckline and side cut-outs, paired with a fluid fringed skirt designed to amplify every movement of the choreography. Created exclusively for Shakira, the look showcased the brand’s bespoke Ray of Sunset print, an evolution of Roberto Cavalli’s iconic Ray of Gold motif, blending golden-hour hues with vibrant shades of pink. The bodysuit was entirely hand-embroidered over the course of more than 120 hours, featuring an extraordinary combination of more than 200,000 Swarovski crystals.
The show concluded with a massive “LOVE” tableau framed by spectacular fireworks, bringing an unforgettable close to a halftime performance that stretched beyond the traditional break without ever losing momentum. It was an emotional roller coaster, seamlessly shifting between high-octane performances and intimate, heartfelt moments, balancing adrenaline-fueled spectacle with genuine emotion. Bold, unapologetically extravagant and packed with global stars, the inaugural FIFA World Cup halftime show proved that football’s biggest night has officially embraced the language of modern pop spectacle.