March 11 – FIFA has decided the 2026 World Cup won’t begin with one opening ceremony. It’ll begin with three.
Mexico City on Thursday, June 11, with shows in Toronto and Los Angeles the following day. Three host nations, three stadiums, three line-ups of global music stars, and three re-imaginings of the World Cup Trophy with papel picado in Mexico, a mosaic in Canada, and whatever Balich Wonder Studio cooks up in LA. All stitched together, FIFA tells us, by “one heartbeat”.
It’s a first in World Cup history.
The 2026 tournament is the biggest the game has ever staged, with48 teams, 104 matches, more cities, and maybe more fans than ever. Giving each host country its own welcome is fair. Mexico gets Maná, J Balvin, and Lila Downs. Canada gets Michael Bublé, Alanis Morissette, and Jessie Reyez. The United States gets Katy Perry, Future, and LISA.
Three concerts in three cities across two days is a lot of shows before the football starts, though. Tyla is performing in both Mexico City and LA, which is either commendable stamina or evidence that the talent pool isn’t quite as endless as the ambition.
At the end of the day, does the tournament need three opening ceremonies to be historic? The game does that on its own.
Still, this is FIFA. Bigger is better is seemingly the brief. The lights will be enormous, the production values eye-watering, the headliners global and the ticket prices are sky-high.
The football starts on June 11. If that bit still matters.
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