On June 11, Colombian icon Shakira performed at the 2026 FIFA World Cup Opening Ceremony at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca — wearing custom Off-White! — and reminded the world that she owns football’s biggest stage.

The 2026 opening ceremony featured performances from global stars like Tyla, J Balvin, Maná, Belinda, Danny Ocean, Lila Downs, and Los Ángeles Azules, with Shakira and Nigerian superstar Burna Boy closing the show. 

The two singers collaborated on “Dai Dai,” the official song for this year’s World Cup, and performed it live together for the first time in Mexico City ahead of the opening match between Mexico and South Africa.

Shakira’s soundtrack reign over the World Cup began 20 years ago.

2006: Shakira performed the “Bamboo” version of one of her most beloved songs, “Hips Don’t Lie,” in Germany. 

 

2010: Four years later, she redefined sports pop culture with the smash hit official song for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” which she performed live at that year’s opening ceremony in Johannesburg. 

 

2014: She performed a reworked version of her record “La La La” at the World Cup closing ceremony in Brazil, which was also deemed the second theme song for that year’s World Cup.

Now, in addition to her opening ceremony performance, Shakira will also co-headline the first-ever halftime show of the 2026 World Cup Final. The singer will take the stage with fellow cultural icons Madonna and BTS at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on July 19.

“I feel like a good World Cup song needs to definitely have rhythm,” Shakira recently told The Associated Press. “It has to make people want to dance. And it has to be an anthem as well. It has to make people want to sing along in unison, sing out loud at the top of their lungs.”

There is no World Cup without Shakira. Just like Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé said in the “Dai Dai” music video: “Shakira, we are ready!”

 

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Kaitlyn McNab is a contributing writer for TOGETHXR.com and an award-winning culture reporter and editor. Her creative mission is to celebrate and articulate diverse experiences across all narrative mediums.

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