Nigeria’s Burna Boy became the first African artist to perform at both a FIFA World Cup opening ceremony and the tournament’s final halftime show on Sunday, as Spain defeated Argentina 1–0 in extra time at MetLife Stadium to win the 2026 title.
With the match still scoreless, Burna Boy took center stage during the first-ever Super Bowl-style halftime spectacle at a World Cup final.
Burna Boy makes history as first African artist at both World Cup opener and final halftime show
He reunited with Colombian superstar Shakira for a high-energy live rendition of “Dai Dai,” the official tournament anthem, joined by Uganda’s viral dance troupe Ghetto Kids.
The 11-minute mega-show, produced by Global Citizen and curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, also featured Madonna, BTS, and Justin Bieber, and aimed to raise funds for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund.
Burna Boy’s presence at both bookends of the tournament — the opening ceremony and the final — cements a monumental victory for Nigeria and the global scaling of Afrobeats.
For a genre that has spent years knocking on mainstream doors, his World Cup final performance was a door kicked wide open.
