East Rutherford, NJ’s MetLife Stadium (which has been rebranded New York New Jersey Stadium for the occasion) is hosting the World Cup final this year on Sunday, July 19, and it’s getting a halftime show for the first time ever. It’s being produced by Global Citizen, and curated by Chris Martin of Coldplay. He’s announced that Madonna, Shakira, and BTS will perform, and it’ll raise funds for the FIFA Global Citizen Education fund. You can watch his announcement, where he’s joined by Muppets Elmo, Cookie Monster, Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, Animal, Statler and Waldorf, and BTS (the latter via Elmo’s phone), below:
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J Balvin will headline the World Cup’s opening ceremony in Mexico City, meanwhile, which happens on June 11 and also features Alejandro Fernández, Belinda, Danny Ocean, Lila Downs, Los Ángeles Azules, Maná and Tyla.
In other World Cup news, there’s been ongoing back and forth over what it will cost attendees to take public transit to the games, which they’re being encouraged to do in lieu of driving, as organizers say there will be no general spectator parking on stadium property on the days of matches. On Wednesday (5/13), NY Governor Kathy Hochul and NJ Governor Mikie Sherrill announced that NJ Transit rail fares would now cost $98 each (from previous prices of $150, and then $105) and shuttle bus fares would be $20 each (previously $80).
Shuttle buses will leave from three Midtown Manhattan locations and from a park-and-ride at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine in NJ, and Hochul says a fifth will be reserved for New Yorkers. “Getting to the World Cup should be as accessible as possible,” she wrote on social media. “That’s why we’re lowering the round-trip price of bus tickets to World Cup matches from $80 to $20.” All shuttle bus details are here.
As for Madonna, she’s releasing her new album Confessions II on July 3, and she’ll premiere a “visual film” by the same name at Tribeca Festival, on June 5 at Beacon Theatre. She and the directors, David Toro and Solomon Chase, will also appear in conversatoin with Jimmy Fallon. Here’s a description:
Confessions II is an ambitious visual work exceeding 10 minutes, built around the first six tracks of Madonna’s forthcoming album including “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love” with Sabrina Carpenter. It unfolds as a single, continuous piece, weaving together interconnected, music-driven sequences into an immersive cinematic experience. A film that gives physicality to the music, Confessions II lives in the tension between control and surrender, between being seen and disappearing into a crowd. Each song unfolds across six chapters, each one a sexy thriller, a dance delusion, an epic fever dream. Like the album, it blurs distinction between tracks, building cosmic narratives that follow a twisted dream logic.
The result is a transcendent journey that catapults the viewer through a fucked-up night out that’s remembered not for what happened, but for how it felt. Madonna is ambushed, pursued, and ultimately worshipped by a roving squad of camera-wielding femmes. From the bedroom to the club bathroom, to the car, to the arena, and even into nature, they cruise the many spaces in which music thrives. Inside these sanctuaries, we discover reflections on dualities that have accompanied Madonna’s entire career: privacy and publicity, grief and catharsis, intimacy and communion, fandom and collaboration. But everything always returns to the one, hallowed place that started it all: the dancefloor.
Shakira begins her “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran” arena tour in June, including NYC-area shows at Newark, NJ’s Prudential Center on July 14, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on July 20 and 21, and Belmont Park, NY’s UBS Arena on July 23. BTS are on their own comeback tour, as well, including shows at MetLife Stadium on August 1 and 2.