It’s been described as an “abomination” that could annoy fans, reducing football’s showpiece game to a celebrity spectacle.
But Fifa’s first World Cup final half-time show is set to become a permanent fixture, some insiders believe, with ITV and the BBC committed to interrupting their analysis for the all-star event.
Madonna, Shakira, BTS and Justin Bieber are among a packed line-up of artists promising to bring a Super Bowl-style level of razzle-dazzle to the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday – while Spain and Argentina’s players cool their heels in the dressing room, waiting for the second half.
Curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, the show is due to last 11 minutes, despite an ever-expanding bill which now includes the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela as well as The Muppets.
BBC and ITV to screen full show
ITV and the BBC had initial concerns that the show would not leave enough time for their pundits to deliver their first-half analysis.
But Fifa has indicated that it will ignore its own laws mandating a 15-minute half-time break and extend the interval to 20 or 25 minutes to accommodate the show.
Some believe the break will be closer to 30 minutes once the time needed to set up and break down the staging is taken into account.
That appears to have satisfied ITV, which will fit the performance around its ad breaks while BBC presenter Gabby Logan is set to pause Wayne Rooney and Joe Hart’s analysis of Lionel Messi vs Lamine Yamal to introduce the show.
A BBC spokesperson said: “Audiences can watch the full Fifa World Cup 2026 half-time show live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, with expert analysis and reaction from the BBC’s punditry team before and after the performance.”
Fifa ‘abomination’
Yet some fear the extended break will disrupt the rhythm of football’s showpiece event.
Rupert Lowe, the Restore Britain leader who was previously chairman of Southampton FC, complained on X: “A Fifa-enforced 30-minute half-time to accommodate some dreadful Super Bowl-style show in the World Cup final is truly an abomination.”
Minal Modha, head of sport media rights at Ampere Analysis, said the show, expected to begin at around 9pm BST, could prove a turn-off for some viewers.
“Uefa have had a Champions League Final pre-Kick Off show since 2016 but while the mix of sport and entertainment is much more accepted in some sports, football fans are a bit more sceptical about such changes – the constant booing around hydration breaks is testament to that.
“It probably will irritate some fans, particularly the purists who want to hear the opinions of the pundits, however it may also be an opportunity to bring in non-sport fan audiences, similarly to the Super Bowl.”
Tim Crow, a leading sports marketing consultant, said the half-time break, with a global audience of billions glued to the final, was too valuable for Fifa to ignore.
‘Advertisers love half-time show’
“Advertisers love the Super Bowl show. This year, Bad Bunny’s performance was seen by 128 million US TV viewers. Brands launch their big adverts around the show,” Crow said.
“Some people in football will resist the change but it’s perfect for a commercial broadcaster like ITV with time to fill.”
The show could be received differently outside of the US though. “American sport and commercial TV grew up together, they are used to advertising disrupting games,” said Crow. “European audiences are more likely be irritated by switching from analysis of the game to entertainment.”
Crow added that the show could be retained for future World Cup finals but such a costly spectacle would not be suitable for domestic occasions like the FA Cup final, which does not have the same TV audience reach.
Bad Bunny performs during the halftime show of Super Bowl 60 between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Bad Bunny performs during the Super Bowl LX half-time show in Santa Clara, California (Photo: Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle/AP)
He recalled that Sky Sports swiftly dropped an attempt to introduce half-time entertainment during Premiership matches in the early-90s after fans began to boo the performers.
‘Show can’t be at expense of game’
The staging for the show will be much less elaborate than the Super Bowl spectacle in order to get the performers on and off as quickly as possible – there are no seats for the orchestral musicians who will play standing up. Particular care is being taken to avoid damage to the pitch.
“We’re there to create an entertaining show, but that can’t be at the expense of the game,” Guy Carrington, executive producer of Done and Dusted, the UK events production company behind the show, told Variety.
“A lot of our time has been spent working with Fifa on lightweight camera systems, how we look at different wheels that go on our carts, down to the shoes that people wear. All of it has been very carefully planned and carefully choreographed.”
Fifa said the show will benefit its Global Citizen Education Fund, which aims to raise $100m to expand access to education and football for children across the world.
“Whether or not it becomes a permanent feature will depend on how well it’s received, how much interest there is from music artists to perform and what kind of audience numbers it attracts,” Ampere’s Modha said. “The fact that it is in the US does make the experiment easier.”
With no home nation to cheer on for Britons, the novelty of the show itself could become an incentive to tune in. “For people who watch with friends, in pubs or other public spaces, they’re unlikely to be listening to half-time analysis, so a musical performance might be welcomed by them,” Modha added.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino said: “As the world unites for the most significant football match in history on Sunday, this groundbreaking spectacle, curated by Chris Martin of Coldplay, will celebrate football, music and our shared values, ensuring a legacy that transcends the final whistle.”