International football governing body FIFA and advocacy organisation Global Citizen have announced J Balvin, Doja Cat and Tems as headliners of the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup Halftime Show.

The event will take place on Sunday 13 July at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, US.

Broadcast live and for free worldwide by DAZN, the 15-minute, Super Bowl-style show is being curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin to support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund. It will be produced by Global Citizen, in partnership with Live Nation, Done+ Dusted and DPS.

“For the first-ever halftime show in a FIFA competition, we’re proud to partner with Global Citizen to bring together a global superstar lineup,” says FIFA president Gianni Infantino. “Together we are going to make history on a special occasion where football and music unites the world. FIFA and Global Citizen are partnering to support a powerful cause: giving every child the chance to learn, play, and dream. Not only that, but with every ticket sold, we’re investing in their future through the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund.

“This show will be unforgettable – not just for its spectacle on a landmark night, but also for the lasting impact it will make.”

Held in the US between from 14 June to 13 July, the new FIFA Club World Cup will see 32 club teams compete across 12 venues in 11 cities, with $1 from every ticket sold will be donated to the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which aims to raise $100 million (€88m) to improve access to quality education.

“As the Club World Cup kicks off, we’re asking fans to step up, get involved, and be part of the movement driving real change”

“We can’t end extreme poverty without ensuring every child gets the education they deserve,” adds Global Citizen co-founder and CEO Hugh Evans. “As the Club World Cup kicks off, we’re asking fans to step up, get involved, and be part of the movement driving real change.”

Global Citizen will also produce the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final Halftime Show, with Chris Martin and manager Phil Harvey to help select the list of acts who will perform at the international football showpiece. That event will also take place at MetLife Stadium on 19 July next year.

The 2026 World Cup will be jointly hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, with the majority of matches to be held in the United States.

Pre-match live performances are already established for the UEFA Champions League final – the biggest game in European club football – whose opening ceremony has welcomed the likes of Lenny Kravitz, Imagine Dragons, Dua Lipa, Alicia Keys, Camila Cabello and – last month – Linkin Park.

According to the NFL, Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance in February averaged 133.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched Super Bowl halftime performance on record.

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Manchester United have unveiled grandiose plans to build a new £2 billion (€2.4bn), 100,000-seat stadium next to their current Old Trafford home.

According to the football club, the stadium and wider regeneration project have the potential to deliver an additional £7.3bn per annum to the UK economy, creating up to 92.000 jobs and 17,000 new homes in Greater Manchester.

The stadium, which would also host concerts, would surpass London’s 90,000-cap Wembley Stadium as the largest in the UK. Architecture group Foster + Partners has been appointed to design the scheme, which the club hopes will be completed within five years.

“Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world’s greatest football stadium, at the centre of a regenerated Old Trafford,” says Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

“Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years, but it has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport. By building next to the existing site, we will be able to preserve the essence of Old Trafford, while creating a truly state-of-the-art stadium that transforms the fan experience only footsteps from our historic home.

“Just as important is the opportunity for a new stadium to be the catalyst for social and economic renewal of the Old Trafford area, creating jobs and investment not just during the construction phase but on a lasting basis when the stadium district is complete. The government has identified infrastructure investment as a strategic priority, particularly in the north of England, and we are proud to be supporting that mission with this project of national, as well as local, significance.”

“If we get this right, the regeneration impact could be bigger and better than London 2012”

The 75,000-cap Old Trafford, which has been United’s home ground since 1910, has staged live music events only sporadically, welcoming acts such as Billy Joel, the Rolling Stones and Bon Jovi over the years. More commonly, major outdoor concerts in the city have taken place at the nearby 50,000-cap Emirates Old Trafford, as well as the 60,000-cap Etihad Stadium (home of rivals Manchester City) and the 80,000-cap Heaton Park.

It is projected the scheme will drive an additional 1.8 million visitors annually.

“If we get this right, the regeneration impact could be bigger and better than London 2012,” says Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham. “Manchester United could, and indeed should, have the best football stadium in the world. To me, that means a stadium that is true to the traditions of the club, affordable to all, with nobody priced out, and a stadium that sets new standards in the game globally. I believe this vision can be realised, and if so, the benefits for Greater Manchester, the North West and the country will be huge.”

IQ recently went behind the scenes at fellow Premier League outfit Everton’s new stadium in Bramley-Moore Dock. With the ability to host events between 5,000 capacity and 53,000, the new ground – which opens later this year – will be the biggest stadium to come on stream in the UK since the 62,850-cap Tottenham Hotspur Stadium opened more than six years ago.

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The 2026 FIFA World Cup final will include a Super Bowl-style half-time show for the first time, it has been confirmed.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has announced that Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and manager Phil Harvey will help select the list of acts who will perform during the 15-minute window at the international football showpiece.

Advocacy organisation Global Citizen will co-produce the event, which will take place on 19 July at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, US.

“I can confirm the first ever half-time show at a FIFA World Cup final in New York New Jersey, in association with Global Citizen,” says Infantino in an Instagram post. “This will be a historic moment for the FIFA World Cup and a show befitting the biggest sporting event in the world.

“We also spoke about how FIFA will takeover Times Square for the final weekend of the FIFA World Cup in 2026, during both the bronze final match and final. These will be two incredible matches, featuring some of the best players in the world, and what better way to celebrate them than in the historic Times Square in New York City.

“I also want to thank Chris Martin and Phil Harvey of Coldplay, who will be working with us at FIFA to finalise the list of artists who will perform”

“My thanks of course to Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans and his incredible team, for helping us put together these amazing shows. I also want to thank Chris Martin and Phil Harvey of Coldplay, who will be working with us at FIFA to finalise the list of artists who will perform during the half time show, as well as at Times Square.”

The 2026 World Cup will be jointly hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, with the majority of matches to be held in the United States.

Pre-match live performances are already established for the UEFA Champions League final – the biggest game in European club football – whose opening ceremony has welcomed the likes of Lenny Kravitz, Imagine Dragons, Dua Lipa, Alicia Keys and Camila Cabello.

According to the NFL, Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance last month averaged 133.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched Super Bowl halftime performance on record.

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A number of music venues in England are making special arrangements to show Sunday’s UEFA Euro 2024 Final.

The Three Lions, who are bidding to become the first England men’s side to win a major international tournament in 58 years, go up against Spain in Berlin from 8pm BST.

Organisers of Wireless Festival, which takes place this weekend in London’s Finsbury Park, are bringing forward Doja Cat’s closing headline set to allow the event to finish at 7pm and give fans “plenty of time to travel home” to watch the final.

“The change in running order and curfew is exclusively to accommodate people wanting to watch the football, no artists have been pulled or sets cut because of this,” a spokesperson for promoter Festival Republic tells the BBC.

Elsewhere, London mayor Sadiq Khan has confirmed The O2 will be hosting the capital’s “largest screening”, with a ballot closing earlier today (12 July) for the 15,000 free tickets.

In Manchester, the 23,000-cap AO Arena, which will feature “the UK’s biggest HD screen” is charging £7.25 to £20.25 for general admission and from £185.75 for VIP packages, including private suites for up to 14 people.

Bristol Ashton Gate stadium is also showing the match for £6 entry, while Bournemouth’s BIC and HMV Empire Coventry have already sold out their allocations.

England’s dramatic semi-final victory over the Netherlands in Wednesday’s semi-final sparked memorable scenes during The Killers gig at The O2, where the band broadcast the closing moments of the game on the big screen before launching into their biggest hit, Mr Brightside.

Fellow American band Kings of Leon also celebrated the triumph at their AO Arena Manchester show, leading a singalong of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline, which has been adopted as an England football anthem.

England are vying for their first European Championship trophy, while Spain have won the tournament three times before – in 1964, 2008 and 2012.

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Ed Sheeran is to headline a 90,000-cap fan festival two days before the start of the UEFA European Football Championship in Germany.

Co-promoted by FKP Scorpio and agency Pro Events, FAN FEST EURO 2024 be staged at Theresienwiese in Munich on Wednesday 12 June. Tickets will cost €95 for the show, which will also star Nelly Furtado, Mark Forster and Dylan. The general sale starts tomorrow (28 March).

The performances will also be screened live by sponsor Deutsche Telekom on its MagentaMusik and MagentaTV platforms. The company is offering priority tickets for the event to customers as part of its loyalty programme.

“Football and music bring people together,” says tournament director Philipp Lahm. “Thanks to strong partners like Deutsche Telekom, the concert organiser FKP Scorpio, the event agency Pro Events and my hometown of Munich, we can offer people another highlight at fair admission prices.”

FAN FEST EURO 2024 will mark the first time that Munich’s Theresienwiese has been as a location for a major cultural event

Former Germany international Lahm and EURO ambassador Celia Šašić will appear as guests on stage during the programme, with further appearances by football personalities also planned.

FAN FEST EURO 2024 will mark the first time that Munich’s Theresienwiese has been as a location for a major cultural event. In addition to the concerts, other entertainment will be provided on stage and in the grounds, along with a range of culinary options.

It has not the first time Sheeran has linked up with the international football tournament. During Euro 2020, he set a new record for the most-watched live music performance on TikTok as part of the video app’s partnership with UEFA.

The record-breaking livestream took place at Portman Road, the home of Sheeran’s hometown football club Ipswich Town.

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Live music has been a key player in the Women’s World Cup football tournament, with concerts from some of Australia and New Zealand’s best-known artists.

The latest addition to the competition’s musical offering is Australian hitmaker Tones and I, who will deliver an on-the-pitch performance at the closing ceremony in the 83,500-capacity Stadium Australia this Sunday (20 August).

The Victoria-born singer-songwriter will perform her latest track, The Greatest, which was released in partnership with Football Australia.

“In an era where music and sport are essential elements of our cultural fabric, this partnership represents an exciting convergence of two artistic powerhouses,” reads a press release from Football Australia.

Tones and I dubbed the performance “a dream come true,” adding: “Music has the power to bring people together, and football does the same.”

“In an era where music and sport are essential elements of our cultural fabric, this partnership represents an exciting convergence of two artistic powerhouses”

Sunday’s closing ceremony will mark the 22-year-old’s second live performance as part of the tournament after she performed with American rapper BIA and French-Senegalese singer Diarra Syllaz at the FIFA Fan Festival in Sydney during half-time of the semi-final match between Spain and Sweden yesterday (16 August).

Sydney’s FIFA Fan Festival has also seen live performances from two-time Grammy Award-winning artist Kimbra (NZ) indie band San Cisco (AU) and pop artist and Twitch streamer Montaigne (AU).

The free-to-enter fan festivals have taken place across all nine host cities in Australia and New Zealand between 20 July–20 August 2023, drawing well over 500,000 fans.

Other artists that have performed at the FIFA Fan Festivals include Rei, Chaii, Cassie Henderson, Seon & Tim Atkinson, Kaylee Bell, Coterie, Seon, Te Whare Karioi, Kapa Haka, Hollie Smith, Ella Monnery and Kaylee Bell.

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Manchester’s AO Arena is to screen England’s World Cup quarter-final clash with France live prior to Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott’s concert at the venue tomorrow evening (10 December).

Support act Billy Bragg has agreed to perform earlier than planned at 6.15pm GMT to enable the match to be shown on the 21,000-cap arena’s big screens from 7pm. Heaton & Abbott will then take to the stage for their headline set at 9pm.

“Following some lengthy thought and discussion, we have decided that we will now be showing the England v France match on the screens at AO Arena Manchester,” says a statement on the venue’s website.

“We are mindful that there will be people that won’t be keen on watching the match (we did, unsuccessfully, look at alternative entertainment within the arena itself) and also worried about transport home, but we assure you that Paul & Jacqui will still take to the stage by 9pm, meaning the show will finish around 10:40/45pm.

“With the right result this could be a great night!”

“This does mean we won’t be showing any extra time if that occurs, but if it does Paul and Jacqui will be very keen to keep you updated from the stage. With the right result this could be a great night!”

London’s The O2 previously streamed England’s 2018 World Cup semi-final defeat against Croatia before a Justin Timberlake concert, while BST Hyde Park showed the game to 30,000 attendees on the Great Oak Stage, preceded by a performance by the Lightning Seeds.

Heaton, a renowned football supporter, and Abbott have capped tickets for their current UK arena tour at just £30 in a bid to help fans weather the cost of living crisis.

“I’m against greed in the industry,” Heaton told BBC Breakfast. “It’s incredibly important that through the coming months and possibly years, that we tell the fans that we’re getting paid enough and we want to keep it low for you.”

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Saudi music entertainment company MDLBeast has unveiled details of its new concert series Aravia, which will bring dozens of superstar DJs to Qatar during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The line-up, which will be revealed in the coming days, will comprise 56 dance acts, who will perform on the purpose-built Al Rihla stage in Doha.

MDLBeast, which promotes the Soundstorm festival and XP Music Futures conference in Riyadh, says performances will start at the end of each match of the international football tournament from 21 November to 18 December.

“The launch of Aravia is a huge milestone moment for MDLBeast and for the wider region”

“The launch of Aravia is a huge milestone moment for MDLBeast and for the wider region,” says MDLBeast CEO Ramadan Alharatani. “We are known for putting on legendary live music and entertainment events thanks to the runaway success of Soundstorm, and to have 28 nights of AAA DJs and music in Qatar this year is an exciting prospect.

“We look forward to bringing the best of dance music to football fans from all over the world.”

The news comes days after FIFA announced it is to stage free concerts starring “top global and local music acts” as part of a reimagined Fan Festival at the World Cup. The festival will be held at one central location at Al Bidda Park in Doha.

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After England made history by qualifying for the final of the Euro 2020 football championship, the team’s first finals appearance in a major international tournament since 1966, a number of musical acts are hoping to capitalise on their success as the event nears its end.

The Lightning Seeds, whose song ‘Three Lions’, with comedians Frank Skinner and David Baddiel, hit number one in 1996 and 1998, will reunite with Baddiel and Skinner for a performance of the song on Channel 4’s The Last Leg tonight (9 July) ahead of a rumoured pre-match show at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

Lightning Seeds frontman Ian Broudie tells I he wanted to “find an occasion” to perform the song before the match, which sees Italy face England at home, but a hoped-for pre-match rendition on the Wembley Stadium pitch is “out of my control”, he says. “We haven’t been invited to yet.”

While it unlikely any performance of ‘Three Lions’ would be allowed at the stadium before kick-off, the trio could potentially team up again at an unofficial event or post-match celebrations (should England win), I reports.

The Lightning Seeds continue their SJM-promoted Jollification tour, marking the 25th anniversary of the seminal 1994 album, in September with rescheduled dates in London, Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester.

Elsewhere, early-2000s girl group Atomic Kitten have reunited to re-work their 2001 no 1 ‘Whole Again’ as a tribute to England manager Gareth Southgate.

The release of ‘Southgate You’re the One (Football’s Coming Home Again)’ comes as the band prepares for a handful of summer festival dates, including We Love 90s in Darlington (27 August), Mighty Hoopla in south London (4 September) and Biggest 90s Disco in Dublin (23 October).

https://twitter.com/ColumbiaUK/status/1412450963508629513

“‘Southgate You’re the One’ is totally inspired by the England football fans in support of Gareth Southgate and the super-talented England football team,” say the trio in a statement. “We will be singing loud and proud: ‘Football’s Coming Home’.”

Euro 2020 kicked off on 11 June with a livestreamed show by the Edge (of U2) and DJ Martin Garrix, who performed tournament anthem ‘We Are the People’ inside a virtually rendered stadium. U2 frontman Bono, meanwhile, who sings lead on the track, performed his parts as a holographic head.

Other notable Euro 2020 music moments included a record-breaking TikTok event featuring Ed Sheeran, who played to 5.5m people from Ipswich Town’s Portman Road stadium as part of a partnership between TikTok and tournament organiser Uefa.

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Ed Sheeran has set a new record for the most-watched live music performance on the viral short-form video app TikTok.

The record-breaking live stream took place last Friday (25 June) at Sheeran’s home football ground of Portman Road, Ipswich Town, UK, as part of TikTok’s partnership with UEFA (The Union of European Football Associations) during the Euro 2020 tournament.

More than 5.5 million unique viewers tuned in to the singer’s hour-long TikTok live stream (dubbed the TikTok UEFA EURO 2020 Show) and the two replays the following day.

According to the platform, the show was the biggest-ever live music performance on TikTok, surpassing the 4 million people who tuned in for Justin Bieber’s Valentine’s Day TikTok live stream in February.

“The bar for what is possible within the livestreaming format has been creatively raised”

The spectator-free show, directed by Emil Nava and Hamish Hamilton, incorporated special effects, augmented reality and prominent TikTok stars. It also marked the live premiere of Sheeran’s new single ‘Bad Habits’.

“The TikTok UEFA 2020 Show was an incredible moment for our community around the world and a turning point for live music streaming,” says Paul Hourican, head of music operations UK TikTok. “The bar for what is possible within the livestreaming format has been creatively raised and it has been shown how big and ambitious TikTok can be for artists.”

Ed Howard, co-president of Sheeran’s record label, Atlantic Records, added: “For Ed, Grumpy Old Management and Atlantic, uniting and reaching their global fan base was imperative for the launch of their new campaign, as well as our close partnership with Paul and the entire TikTok team enabled us to achieve this goal in a uniquely creative way.”

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