Shakira and Global Citizen cofounder and CEO Hugh Evans talk about being a part of and performing at the first ever FIFA World Cup 2026 final halftime show with BTS and Madonna.

Shakira: First of all, I’m honored to be performing alongside Madonna and BTS. I think that this is going to be completely different from the Super Bowl experience, which, by the way, it was incredible for me.

Hugh Evans: The dream of this started four years ago at the last World Cup, when Chris called me and said that it would be incredible if we could work together with FIFA to create the first ever halftime show for the World Cup final. And really the thing that the process that went into curating how it could come together was focused on the value of unity. We said, at a time when the world can feel so divided, we wanted to have a moment where, if you look down on planet Earth and you saw this halftime show, you would feel this incredible spirit of unity that actually people of all nations, of all backgrounds, would come together and demonstrate that there are things that are bigger than all of us. And that thing in this context is children’s education. It’s something that Shakira believes in and has dedicated her whole career to. It’s something that we, at Global Citizen believe passionately that education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.

And so with those values set we said, which artists are passionate about that? And so obviously, because Shakira has so long demonstrated her commitment to education, but she’s also demonstrated over her entire career, her love for football. She’s the most extraordinary artist to co-headline the first ever World Cup final alongside Madonna, who also said, ‘I’m equally passionate about education,’ and BTS, who responded immediately when given the opportunity.

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