American singer Katy Perry will be part of the opening ceremony at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles for the first FIFA World Cup game between the United States and Paraguay. The other top artist lined up for the event is Bangladeshi-American Sanjoy, a Los Angeles-based DJ.
Earlier, FIFA announced on Friday that it will hold separate opening ceremonies before the first game in each of the three host countries for this year’s World Cup, which is being held in Mexico, Canada and the United States.
The biggest World Cup in history kicks off on June 11 in Mexico City, where Grammy Award-winning Mexican pop band Mana will perform as part of a lineup that also includes Alejandro Fernandez and Belinda, FIFA said in a post on X.
The Mexico City concert will highlight Mexican culture and include Indigenous and “modern folkloric” performers, FIFA said.
Canadian singers Alanis Morissette, Michael Buble, Alessia Cara, William Prince and Bangladeshi American Sanjoy, who is a Los Angeles-based DJ, will perform ahead of Canada’s opening group stage match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto on June 12.
FIFA said a “mosaic-inspired reimagining of the FIFA World Cup Trophy will reflect Canada’s diversity and community” at the concert.
The U.S. concert is designed around “delivering a high-energy spectacle that reflects the scale, ambition and cultural power of the tournament itself,” FIFA said.
This year’s World Cup marks the second time the global soccer showcase is being co-hosted by multiple countries. The 2002 World Cup was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, with the former staging the opening ceremony.
FIFA’s current prize fund of USD 727 million is a record. Each of the competing teams was to receive USD 10.5 million under the current arrangement while the winners would have earned USD 50 million. Additionally, it has been further reported that development funding handed out to all 211 FIFA members will also increase from the projected USD 2.7 billion it was already due to distribute over the next four-year cycle. Each national association was to receive a guaranteed payment of USD 5 million. Each of the six continental confederations was to receive USD 60 million.
