Shakira, Burna Boy and J Balvin lit up the opening ceremony of the 2026 FIFA World Cup – watch footage below.
The tournament kicked off tonight (June 11) in Mexico City’s historic Azteca Stadium with Mexico – who are co-hosting alongside the USA and Canada – taking on South Africa in the opening match.
The ceremony took place before kick-off, and opened with Mexican Latin rock veterans Maná playing their 1992 hit ‘Oye Mi Amor’, with the thousands in attendance audibly singing along.
It then transitioned to Venezuelan reggaeton artist Danny Ocean, who performed ‘Partidazo’, a track released as part of the official 2026 FIFA World Cup album, followed by Mexican cumbia band Los Ángeles Azules singing ‘Por Ella’ with Spanish-Mexican singer Belinda.
J Balvin then took the reins with a medley of ‘Qué Calor’, ‘Una A La Vez’ and his 2018 Cardi B collaboration ‘I Like It’, before Shakira and Burna Boy rounded it off with their official anthem for this World Cup, ‘Dai Dai’, a song which mentions football legends Pele, Diego Maradona, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Mo Salah.
