Brandon Flowers and his Las Vegas band, The Killers, will perform at the opening ceremony for the 2026 UEFA Champions League final, taking the stage shortly before kickoff.
Fans searching for who will play the pre-match show now have an answer: UEFA has named The Killers as the Kick Off Show act for the 2025/26 Champions League final, the match that will pit Arsenal against Paris Saint‑Germain.
UEFA published a piece titled "The Killers look forward to Kick Off Show performance" that confirms the selection and notes the band is looking forward to the pre-match slot. The Killers — fronted by Flowers and best known for stadium-ready songs such as "Mr. Brightside," "Somebody Told Me," "Human" and "When You Were Young" — are scheduled to appear shortly before the teams walk onto the pitch.
The Champions League final’s opening ceremony has become a regular element of the event, with past acts ranging from Lenny Kravitz and Imagine Dragons to Camila Cabello, Burna Boy, Anitta and Linkin Park. Hosting a major pop or rock act before kickoff is now an expected part of the broadcast build-up and global staging.
Not everyone welcomes that shift. Some fans and traditionalists still prefer a simpler, match-focused countdown: a few minutes of national anthems and formalities rather than a full-scale concert. That preference sits uneasily with UEFA’s continued push for spectacle — a tension between fans who want the pristine, ritual start to a match and those who treat the final as both a sporting event and a global entertainment moment.
For arriving supporters and viewers tuning in around the world, the timing matters: the performance will be slotted just before kickoff, designed to bridge the pre-match pageantry and the first whistle. The announcement gives broadcasters and fans a clear cue for when the entertainment content will air during what is one of the year’s most-watched single sporting broadcasts.
What remains unfilled is the setlist. UEFA’s notice and The Killers’ anticipation of the Kick Off Show confirm the band’s participation but do not specify which songs Flowers and the band will play. Given the group’s catalogue and stadium appeal, hits like "Mr. Brightside" are obvious possibilities, but the exact selection will shape how the moment lands for purists and casual viewers alike.
The next confirmed event is the Kick Off Show itself: The Killers will perform shortly before kickoff at the 2026 Champions League final between Arsenal and Paris Saint‑Germain. The announced schedule answers who will headline the opening ceremony, but the unanswered, decisive detail — the band’s setlist — will determine whether the performance satisfies long-time fans who want a restrained build-up or viewers expecting a full entertainment spectacle.
