FIFA said this afternoon that Tom Cruise, Laura Pausini, Nicole Scherzinger, Robbie Williams, and internet streamer IShowSpeed will be among the names that will perform as part of the World Cup closing ceremony.
The closing ceremony will take place on Sunday, July 19 at MetLife Stadium. The organization didn’t elaborate on what any of the performers will be doing, but noted that Cruise will make a “special appearance.”
Tom Cruise thrilled fans at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games closing ceremony by abseiling from the roof of the Stade de France. As part of the handover to Los Angeles, the Mission: Impossible star descended into the stadium, grabbed the Olympic flag, and sped away on a motorcycle.
FIFA also confirmed today that Jennifer Hudson will perform the U.S. national anthem ahead of the final, which will be shown on FOX and Telemundo in the U.S with a 3PM ET kick-off.
The World Cup continues to be a ratings boon globally and the final is the main event.
The 2022 World Cup final engaged 5BN viewers across all media (linear TV, digital, social media and FIFA platforms). Total reach of the final between France v Argentina climbed to a record 1.42BN viewers, which in comparison, dwarfs the average Super Bowl viewership of 125.6M.
This will be the first ever World Cup final with a half-time show. On the star-studded slate to perform are Justin Bieber, Madonna, Shakira, K-pop ensemble BTS, Burna Boy, Gustavo Dudamel and the PS22 Chorus featuring Coldplay, and the Sesame Street muppets. In a break with soccer protocol, the 11-minute set is reportedly due to extend the typical 15 minute half-time break, with a new half-time of up to 30 minutes.
The World Cup semifinals take place this week. France plays Spain today in Dallas in the first semi, while England and Argentina face off on Wednesday in Atlanta. France continues to be the tournament favorites, with a convincing win against Morocco in the last round. England has also maintained momentum throughout the tournament, particularly after the team’s eventful win at the Azteca Stadium against Mexico in the Round of 16.
Earlier in the tournament, the U.S. national team’s loss against Belgium in the round of 16 garnered 33.086 million viewers — the most ever for a soccer telecast in the U.S. and the largest non-NFL audience on any network in a decade, since Game 7 of the World Series on Nov. 2 2016. The viewership peaked at 41M from 9:15 pm-9:30 pm ET. Telemundo has also scored record Spanish-language ratings this tournament.
In the UK, England’s win against Norway in the quarter-finals was the largest audience of the tournament so far. Jude Bellingham’s brace of goals knocked Norway out of the competition, with a peak of 16.8M viewers watching the 2-1 triumph on ITV1. The game, which kicked off at 10 p.m. local time at the Miami Stadium, topped the previous peak of 15M viewers for England’s opening match against Croatia last month.
