FIFA announced on Thursday, June 4 that Shakira will perform the official song Dai Dai with Burna Boy at the 2026 World Cup opening ceremony in Mexico City on Thursday, 11 June — a show set to begin 90 minutes before the first match at Estadio Azteca, where Mexico will meet South Africa at 20:00 BST.
That confirmation is the reason people searching when is world cup 2026 starting are getting answers today: the governing body has fixed the date, time and first-venue spectacle, and it ties the tournament’s official launch to a single kickoff evening rather than a single-city gala.
The Mexico show will feature J Balvin and Tyla alongside Shakira and Burna Boy, and organizers say Dai Dai — whose chant includes the lines "let's go" and "come on" — will be central to the night. FIFA described the song as designed to carry through the tournament and connect audiences worldwide, and the ceremony will precede the tournament’s first of 104 games.
But this opening is not an isolated moment in one host city; it is the first act in a three-country rollout. Opening ceremonies will also precede Canada’s and the United States’ first matches: Michael Bublé and Alanis Morissette will headline the BMO Field show in Toronto before Canada face Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday, 12 June, while Katy Perry and Future will perform ahead of the USA’s match with Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles the same day. The result is a split launch — national ceremonies tied to each host’s opening fixture rather than a single centralized opening night.
For fans that means the tournament’s official calendar is now firm: the World Cup begins in Mexico on 11 June with an Estadio Azteca ceremony 90 minutes before kickoff, followed by matches and parallel launch shows in Canada and the United States on 12 June, and a final setpiece on 19 July at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey where Shakira will return as a co-headliner of the halftime show.
What remains unresolved is whether the Mexico ceremony will grow beyond the lineup announced on June 4; organizers have not listed additional performers after that date. If further names are added, fans and broadcasters will learn whether the split, three-nation approach produces one unified global moment or a series of distinct national openings stitched together across the tournament’s first weekend.
