By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Bieber will bring his swag to the World Cup’s star-studded, Super Bowl-style halftime show, joining fellow headliners Madonna, Shakira and BTS, FIFA announced Wednesday.
Afrobeats star Burna Boy, Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the PS22 Chorus — a choir of elementary school students based in Staten Island, New York — will also perform, the last joined by Coldplay.
The 11-minute halftime performance, curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, will take place during the final outside New York on July 19. The show will support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which is raising $100 million to help children access education and soccer.
“The FIFA World Cup brings the world together in a way nothing else can,” Bieber said in a statement. “I’m grateful to be part of this Halftime Show, and even more grateful knowing it’s already helping expand access to education for children around the world.”
Of all the performances, the addition of Burna Boy is particularly noteworthy: He’s one-half of this year’s official song for the World Cup, “Dai Dai,” led by Shakira. The song is a mesh of their musical landscapes: Afrobeats and Latin rhythms, an undeniably global, multilingual pop track. In one verse, they name a number of the world’s most famous soccer players and countries competing in this year’s World Cup: “Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia,” Shakira cheers. “Mexico, Japan, Korea, Netherlands.”
“The FIFA World Cup is one of the few moments that truly brings the entire world together,” Burna Boy said in a statement. “To represent Africa on the first-ever FIFA World Cup Final Halftime Show is a privilege and a responsibility that I don’t take lightly.”
And while the Super Bowl is famed for its halftime show, such performances are not commonplace in soccer, with events like the Champions League final featuring a pre-match concert.
This year’s World Cup halftime performance will also feature some characters from “Sesame Street,” as well as Muppets like Kermit and Miss Piggy.
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