The 2026 World Cup is not opening like a normal tournament. It is opening like a global festival with a football schedule attached.

For the first 48-team men's World Cup, FIFA is staging three opening ceremonies across the three host countries. ABC News and Fox Sports both frame it as a two-day rollout: Mexico City opened the tournament on June 11, with Toronto and Los Angeles following on June 12.

Mexico made the first move

Mexico City got the first ceremony, and the lineup made the point immediately. People reported that Shakira and Burna Boy performed the official tournament anthem, "Dai Dai," with J Balvin, Alejandro Fern?ndez, Belinda and Tyla among the artists tied to the Mexico City celebration before Mexico faced South Africa.

That is not just a performer list. It is a positioning statement. The World Cup has always moved culture, but 2026 is treating music as part of the tournament architecture. Shakira brings decades of World Cup memory. Burna Boy brings Afrobeats scale. J Balvin brings Latin pop's global streaming power. Together, they make the opening feel less like pregame entertainment and more like a map of where global pop actually lives.

Toronto and Los Angeles expand the stage

The Canadian ceremony keeps the local-host energy intact. People lists Michael Bubl?, Alessia Cara and Alanis Morissette among Toronto's performers, with international names like Elyanna, Vegedream and Nora Fatehi also involved. That mix matters because Canada is not just hosting matches. It is using the opening stage to present its own pop ecosystem to a global audience.

Then Los Angeles gets the biggest pop-culture swing. FIFA says the U.S. ceremony begins 90 minutes before kickoff at Los Angeles Stadium on June 12, while U.S. Soccer lists Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, LISA, Rema and Tyla as headliners for the celebration before the United States faces Paraguay.

That Los Angeles lineup is almost too on the nose, in the best way. Katy Perry gives the American broadcast a familiar stadium-pop anchor. Future connects the ceremony to Atlanta rap and U.S. streaming culture. Anitta and Rema underline how global pop no longer runs through one country. LISA turns the K-pop audience into part of the World Cup conversation. Tyla gives the whole thing a current global hitmaker edge.

The merch moment is already here

A tournament this big creates its own shopping calendar. Fans do not wait for knockout rounds to start building looks. The early plays are easy: a 2026 World Cup jersey, a USMNT jersey, or a Mexico soccer jersey for watch parties. For casual fans, a World Cup soccer ball or World Cup scarf is the cleaner buy.

The key is not forcing the merch. The World Cup naturally turns jerseys into streetwear, especially when the host-country ceremonies are built around pop stars whose fans already move through fashion, music and sport at the same time.

The read

The old version of a World Cup opening ceremony was ceremonial: dancers, flags, a few songs, then kickoff. The 2026 version is content-native. It is designed for broadcast clips, social edits, fan identity and shopping behavior before the ball even settles.

That is why the Katy Perry, Shakira, J Balvin, Burna Boy and LISA conversation matters. It proves FIFA understands the tournament is not only competing with other sports. It is competing with the entire attention economy. This year, the opening ceremony is not just the start of the World Cup. It is the first viral campaign of the tournament.

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