For the first time in history, a single FIFA World Cup will open across three nations on two consecutive days – and the 2026 FIFA World Cup is doing it with a performer lineup that reads like a global music festival. Mexico City fires the opening shot on June 11, with Shakira, Burna Boy, Maná, and J Balvin headlining at the legendary Estadio Azteca. Then on June 12, Toronto stages a distinctly Canadian celebration featuring Michael Bublé and Alanis Morissette, before Los Angeles closes the opening weekend at SoFi Stadium with Katy Perry, LISA, Rema, Anitta, and Future.
The scale of what FIFA has assembled is genuinely unprecedented. Three opening ceremonies, three host nations, a 48-team tournament spanning 104 matches, and a performer roster that pulls from Latin pop, Afrobeats, K-pop, hip-hop, and beyond – all of it broadcast live on FOX Sports in the United States. Here is everything you need to know about all three shows.
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2026 World Cup Opening Ceremony: Mexico City (June 11)
The tournament’s flagship ceremony takes place at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on Thursday, June 11, 2026, with the show starting at 1:30 p.m. ET and running approximately 45–60 minutes before kickoff. The Azteca is the only stadium in history to have hosted three World Cup opening matches – 1970, 1986, and now 2026 – and its 87,000-capacity bowl will provide the grandest stage of the three ceremonies.
The centrepiece of the night is Shakira performing “Dai Dai,” the official anthem of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, alongside Burna Boy. The collaboration brings Shakira back to the World Cup stage 16 years after “Waka Waka” became the defining cultural moment of the 2010 South Africa tournament – a symbolic return that FIFA has been building toward all cycle. The full lineup also includes Maná (Mexican rock icons), Alejandro Fernández, Belinda, Lila Downs, Los Ángeles Azules (cumbia legends), South African singer Tyla, Colombian star J Balvin, and Venezuelan artist Danny Ocean – several of whom also feature on FIFA’s first-ever full World Cup album.
The ceremony leads directly into the tournament’s first match: Mexico vs South Africa in Group A. For full kickoff time details and team news on that opener, the Mexico vs South Africa live stream, TV channel, and kickoff time guide has everything you need. For the complete artist-by-artist breakdown of the Mexico City show, the Mexico 2026 World Cup opening ceremony full lineup covers every confirmed performer.
| Time Zone | Ceremony Start Time |
|---|---|
| ET (Eastern) | 1:30 p.m. |
| CT (Central) | 12:30 p.m. |
| MT (Mountain) | 11:30 a.m. |
| PT (Pacific) | 10:30 a.m. |
| Local (Mexico City) | 12:30 p.m. |
United States
Broadcasters have locked in their coverage details to make sure you don’t miss a single minute of FIFA World Cup 2026 action from Estadio Azteca.
- TV Channel(s): FOX, FS1 (English); Telemundo, Universo (Spanish)
- Live Stream(s): FOX One (subscription); Tubi (free simulcast)
United Kingdom
- TV Channel(s): ITV1, BBC One
- Live Stream(s): ITVX, BBC iPlayer
Canada
- TV Channel(s): CTV, TSN, RDS
- Live Stream(s): TSN+, RDS Direct
Australia
- TV Channel(s): SBS
- Live Stream(s): SBS On Demand
2026 World Cup Opening Ceremony: Toronto (June 12)
Canada’s opening ceremony is set for Friday, June 12, 2026 at BMO Field in Toronto, starting at 1:30 p.m. ET. The venue has been expanded to over 45,000 capacity for World Cup fixtures, and the show preceding Canada vs Bosnia and Herzegovina marks the first time Canada has ever hosted a World Cup match on home soil – a genuinely historic moment for Canadian football.
The ceremony lineup leans heavily into Canada’s multicultural identity. Michael Bublé and Alanis Morissette anchor the homegrown contingent, joined by Alessia Cara, Jessie Reyez, Nora Fatehi, and William Prince. The international roster reflects Canada’s diaspora – Palestinian singer Elyanna, Bangladeshi-American DJ Sanjoy, and French artist Vegedream round out a show that FIFA has framed as a deliberate celebration of the tournament’s continental reach.
| Time Zone | Ceremony Start Time |
|---|---|
| ET (Eastern) | 1:30 p.m. |
| CT (Central) | 12:30 p.m. |
| MT (Mountain) | 11:30 a.m. |
| PT (Pacific) | 10:30 a.m. |
| Local (Toronto) | 1:30 p.m. |
United States
- TV Channel(s): FOX, FS1 (English); Telemundo, Universo (Spanish)
- Live Stream(s): FOX One (subscription)
United Kingdom
- TV Channel(s): ITV1, BBC One
- Live Stream(s): ITVX, BBC iPlayer
Canada
- TV Channel(s): CTV, TSN, RDS
- Live Stream(s): TSN+, RDS Direct
Australia
- TV Channel(s): SBS
- Live Stream(s): SBS On Demand
2026 World Cup Opening Ceremony: Los Angeles (June 12)
The third and final opening ceremony takes place later on June 12 – note the later start versus Toronto’s afternoon show – with the SoFi Stadium ceremony in Inglewood, California kicking off at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT. SoFi, which previously hosted Super Bowl LVI, can accommodate over 70,000 fans, and FIFA has officially billed the event as an “All-Star Opening Celebration.” The match that follows is USA vs Paraguay in Group C.
The Los Angeles lineup is the most internationally varied of the three. Katy Perry headlines for the United States, joined by LISA – the global K-pop star – Nigerian Afrobeats artist Rema, Brazilian pop force Anitta, and hip-hop artist Future. Together they represent six continents of popular music in a single pregame show, which is precisely the statement FIFA wants to make with the first expanded-format World Cup. The USA vs Paraguay live stream, TV channel, and kickoff time guide covers everything you need for the match that follows.
| Time Zone | Ceremony Start Time |
|---|---|
| ET (Eastern) | 7:30 p.m. |
| CT (Central) | 6:30 p.m. |
| MT (Mountain) | 5:30 p.m. |
| PT (Pacific) | 4:30 p.m. |
| Local (Los Angeles) | 4:30 p.m. |
United States
Broadcasters have locked in their coverage details to make sure you don’t miss a single minute of FIFA World Cup 2026 action from SoFi Stadium.
- TV Channel(s): FOX, FS1 (English); Telemundo, Universo (Spanish)
- Live Stream(s): FOX One (subscription); Tubi (free simulcast)
United Kingdom
- TV Channel(s): ITV1, BBC One
- Live Stream(s): ITVX, BBC iPlayer
Canada
- TV Channel(s): CTV, TSN, RDS
- Live Stream(s): TSN+, RDS Direct
Australia
- TV Channel(s): SBS
- Live Stream(s): SBS On Demand
2026 World Cup Opening Ceremony Performers: Complete Lineup
Mexico City – Estadio Azteca (June 11, 1:30 p.m. ET)
- Shakira – performing official tournament anthem “Dai Dai”
- Burna Boy – co-performer on “Dai Dai”
- Maná – Mexican rock band
- J Balvin – Colombian pop/reggaeton star
- Alejandro Fernández – Mexican singer
- Belinda – Mexican singer
- Lila Downs – Mexican singer-songwriter
- Los Ángeles Azules – Mexican cumbia band
- Tyla – South African singer
- Danny Ocean – Venezuelan singer
Toronto – BMO Field (June 12, 1:30 p.m. ET)
- Michael Bublé – Canadian jazz-pop icon
- Alanis Morissette – Canadian rock legend
- Alessia Cara – Canadian singer-songwriter
- Jessie Reyez – Canadian singer
- Nora Fatehi – Canadian performer and dancer
- William Prince – Canadian folk singer
- Elyanna – Palestinian singer
- Sanjoy – Bangladeshi-American DJ
- Vegedream – French singer
Los Angeles – SoFi Stadium (June 12, 7:30 p.m. ET)
- Katy Perry – US pop headliner
- LISA – K-pop global star
- Rema – Nigerian Afrobeats artist
- Anitta – Brazilian pop artist
- Future – US hip-hop artist
Why Three Opening Ceremonies? The Historic Scale of 2026
No World Cup has ever opened this way. Previous tournaments – from South Africa in 2010 to Brazil in 2014 to Qatar in 2022 – staged a single ceremony in a single city before the host nation’s first match. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the first edition with three co-hosts, the first with 48 teams and 104 matches, and consequently the first to require three separate opening ceremonies spread across an entire continent.
That logistical reality doubles as a statement of intent. FIFA’s decision to engineer three distinct shows – each anchored by local artists but stacked with global names – reflects the expanded tournament’s need to build simultaneous emotional investment across three different nations and dozens of global fan bases. The performer selections are not random; they are a precisely engineered audience-compounding machine, designed to make the tournament feel immediately personal to viewers from Lagos to Seoul to Buenos Aires before a single ball is kicked.
The Mexico City ceremony carries the greatest historical weight. Estadio Azteca is the only ground on earth to have hosted three World Cup opening matches, and Shakira’s performance of “Dai Dai” with Burna Boy is a direct line back to 2010 – a reminder that the tournament’s cultural legacy is as carefully curated as its sporting one. For context on what that first match means on the pitch, the full breakdown of El Tri‘s Group A opener against Bafana Bafana is covered in our Mexico vs South Africa live stream and match preview.
All 104 matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup – from these opening ceremonies on June 11 through the World Cup final on July 19 at New York/New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford – are available to stream live and on demand via FOX One. The Mexico and US ceremony matches are also available free on Tubi. For the full picture on the United States’ opening night, the USA vs Paraguay live stream and kickoff time breakdown has all the viewing and team details you need before kickoff at SoFi Stadium.
