FIFA opening ceremony names six stars

FIFA didn’t just book a halftime-style pop lineup. It turned the 2026 World Cup opening into a three-country entertainment rollout — and the U.S. leg now has its headline names. Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, LISA, Rema and Tyla are set for the opening ceremony in Los Angeles on Friday, June 12. That matters because this tournament is already the biggest World Cup FIFA has ever staged, and the ceremony is being used as a signal about what kind of event 2026 is supposed to feel like. ### Wait — isn’t the World Cup opening match in Mexico? Yes. That’s the first thing that makes this confusing. The tournament’s actual opening match is Mexico’s game in Mexico City on Thursday, June 11. FIFA set that up when it released the 2026 schedule, with the final later set for July 19 in New York New Jersey. So the Los Angeles show is not the tournament’s first kick-off. It’s the United States’ opening ceremony for its own first match day. (fifa.com) ### So what exactly got announced? FIFA announced the U.S. opening ceremony lineup for Los Angeles, saying the show will happen on Friday, June 12, before the first World Cup match played in the United States. The six featured artists are Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, LISA, Rema and Tyla. FIFA framed Los Angeles as the entertainment-heavy launch point for the U.S. portion of the tournament. (fifa.com) ### Why are there three opening ceremonies? Because 2026 is the first men’s World Cup hosted by three countries — Canada, Mexico and the United States — and FIFA is leaning hard into that structure. Instead of one symbolic curtain-raiser, it’s staging a trilogy: Mexico opens the tournament on June 11, Canada gets its own ceremony in Toronto on June 12, and the U.S. gets this Los Angeles event the same day. (fifa.com) Basically, FIFA is treating the host nations less like background infrastructure and more like co-headliners. ### Who’s playing the other ceremonies? Mexico’s ceremony includes Alejandro Fernández, Belinda, Danny Ocean, J Balvin, Lila Downs, Los Ángeles Azules, Maná and Tyla. Canada’s announced performers include Alanis Morissette, Alessia Cara, Elyanna, Jessie Reyez, Michael Bublé, Nora Fatehi, Sanjoy, Vegedream and William Prince. That helps explain the U.S. list — FIFA isn’t building one global concert with one cast. (inside.fifa.com) It’s curating three different versions of the same idea. ### Why this particular U.S. lineup? The pattern is pretty obvious. FIFA picked artists with reach across different music markets and fan bases: U.S. pop, rap, Brazilian funk-pop, K-pop, Afrobeats and amapiano-pop. Perry and Future bring mainstream U.S. recognition. Anitta and LISA pull in giant international fan communities. Rema and Tyla signal how central African pop has become to global crossover culture. (inside.fifa.com) It’s less about one sonic identity than maximum global spread. That last point is an inference from the roster itself — but it fits the broader three-country strategy FIFA is spelling out. ### Why does Los Angeles matter so much? Because Los Angeles is doing more than hosting a match. FIFA is using it as a showcase city for the U.S. side of the tournament, and the city is also set to host a FIFA Fan Festival at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum from June 11 to June 14. So the ceremony is part of a larger opening-week spectacle, not a one-off stage performance tucked before kickoff. (fifa.com) ### What’s the bigger takeaway? This is FIFA selling the 2026 World Cup as a continent-scale culture event as much as a football tournament. The 48-team format and 104-game schedule already make it the largest edition ever. The opening ceremonies push that same message in entertainment form — three hosts, three stages, one giant month-long brand statement. (fifa.com) ### Bottom line? The news is real, but the framing matters. FIFA did not announce the one definitive World Cup opener. It announced the U.S. opener inside a three-part launch. And that’s the actual story — the 2026 World Cup is being staged like a tournament, a tour and a media event all at once. (fifa.com 1) (fifa.com 2)