Shakira Leads World Cup 2026 Opening Ceremony in Mexico City
The reviews are in for veteran pop star Shakira, who led a line-up of Latin singers to launch what has been dubbed the biggest ever World Cup co-hosted by Mexico, Canada and the USA.
The storied Azteca Stadium — officially known as the Mexico City Stadium during the World Cup — staged the party and has been renovated for the expanded tournament, which is being co-hosted with the United States and Canada.
After a series of flops when it comes to World Cup songs over the last three men’s tournaments, football’s governing body FIFA went back to Colombian Shakira for this year’s edition after her 2010 song “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” went viral.
This year’s song “Dai Dai” — written alongside Nigerian recording artist Burna Boy — was performed in front of a packed Azteca, which is the first arena on the globe to host three men’s World Cups. “Dai, Dai” means “Let’s go” in Italian — presumably written before Italy failed to qualify.
Several Latin American singers also performed ahead of the first ever football World Cup held in three countries, while the ceremony started with dancers in indigenous dress.
Shakira and Burna Boy had good chemistry during the performance, but some fans were underwhelmed with the whole event. Some fans thought they had seen it all before.
The iconic finals in 1970 and 1986 were held at the Azteca and featured late football greats Pelé and Diego Maradona respectively. But the early singing and dancing was just part of the ceremony, which was held in two sections. The second part was opened by Mexican actress Salma Hayek, who later handed the World Cup to FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
A parade of flags of all the 48 nations, including debutants Jordan, Uzbekistan, Curaçao and Cape Verde, followed. The three host flags came out together, meaning there were cheers instead of possible jeers for the US flag, given geopolitical issues also involving Mexico.
Then it was time for more music, including from Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli. The last World Cup opening ceremony in North America in 1994 included Diana Ross infamously missing a penalty. There were no such mishaps here although it appeared to start late.
Mixed Reactions from Fans
The reviews for the 49-year-old Shakira were clearly mixed, although she still does have some loyal fans. “Perfect opening act ... Iconic performance,” one fan wrote. Another said: “Shakira never misses! Hips don’t lie and neither does that opening ceremony energy. Dai Dai is already stuck in my head. What a way to kick off the 2026 World Cup!” And another added: “Shakira again has killed it.”
But others were less kind. “She’s old,” one fan bluntly said. Another commented: “When will Shakira retire? ...it’s enough.” Another, referring to her previous performance, said: “Epic? History repeats like 16 years ago but without soul.” Another fan also thought she looked a little strange: “Is Shakira wearing a mask or what? She looks super weird, with dark glasses, her neck covered up. Is that her with a mask on or a body double?”
Another thought the whole opening was flat and lacked high-end production: “Love Shakira. But the entire production for this World Cup opening is one of the worst of all time relative to the previous ones and the year we are living in. This is the year of tech, AI, and you guys literally carried a flag on a helicopter over the stadium which was done in 1970. Super weak opening event and ceremony. I’m sure even Shakira had the same comment. Her events are 10 times higher level than this.” Another added: “I was expecting more from this World Cup kickoff tbh but Shakira is Shakira. Goddess.”
Separate ceremonies will take place on Friday at the first matches in Canada (Toronto) and the US (Inglewood in Los Angeles County). Canadian singers Michael Bublé and Alanis Morissette are set to perform at the first and US pop star Katy Perry at the second.
