Madonna opened the World Cup half-time show with her 2000 dance-pop hit “Music,” and was joined by former Brazilian soccer stars Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. The game began with an apparently pre-recorded track recorded at the rink, before she rode a dune buggy into the stadium singing “Music to bring people together.”“Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel led the orchestra in the White Stripes’ sports anthem “Seven Nation Army,” while animals and other puppets danced and trembled.K-pop sensation BTS took to the stage in red and black after performing “Dynamite.”While promoting the upcoming season of “Ted Lasso,” Jason Sudeikis and Brandon Hunt cheered on Justin Bieber, who changed pace with the slower “Everything Hallelujah.”Shakira and Burna Boy then performed their national anthem “Dai Dai”, which is played before kick-off at all 104 matches of the tournament.The show ended with a chorus of Staten Island elementary school students.Jennifer Hudson, Robbie Williams and more performed a range of songs, while Post Malone brought out an old song and a new one, tom cruise delivered an impassioned speech at the closing ceremony ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final.British singer and former Take That member Williams performed his FIFA anthem “Desire” in a bedazzling blue tracksuit. He was joined by Pussycat Dolls member Nicole Scherzinger and Italian singer Laura Pausini, who wore a blue sequined gown. Williams released the song a year ago, but released a new version with the two ladies earlier this week.Anchor IShowSpeed was the first to take the stage, singing his World Cup theme song “Champions” over an image of the Empire State Building. Next up was Post Malone, who took to the court at New York/New Jersey Stadium, which was covered in tarps and afforded a view of the New York skyline. He performed a brand new song, “Chrome Heartbreaker,” and joined Swae Lee on the hexagon stage in the center of the venue to perform their 2018 duet “Sunflower.”Tom Cruise also attended the Paris Olympics closing ceremony, where he later gave a speech wearing a polo shirt and jeans.“Only two teams left today: Spain!” Cruz paused to cheer, then added: “Argentina!”“Let’s celebrate a tournament that brings the world together,” he said.Most of the national anthems are played during games, but Sunday was played live. EGOT winner and talk show host Jennifer Hudson sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Wearing a white suit with red, white and blue trim, she stood in front of a row of world flags and sang a cappella to the accompaniment of a brass band.A Spanish brass band played the Spanish instrumental “La Marcha Real,” followed by the Argentinian song “Himno Nacional Argentino,” sung by pop star Maria Becerra, who wore a flowing dress reminiscent of the Argentine flag.The first half-time show of the World Cup will bring a Super Bowl atmosphere. As well as headliners Shakira, Madonna, BTS and Justin Bieber, also scheduled to perform are characters from The Muppets, Afrobeat star Burna Boy, Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel and primary school choir PS22 – the latter of which will be joined by Coldplay, whose leader Chris Martin curated the 11-minute half-time show.
