World Cup 2026: The Stars  Came but There Was Little Magic

Despite a star-studded lineup of international artistes, Vanessa Obioha writes that the 2026 FIFA World Cup opening ceremonies across Mexico, Canada and the United States struggled to deliver the cultural spectacle and emotional resonance that have defined some of football’s most memorable celebrations

The last time a North American nation hosted the World Cup was in 1994, when it took place in the United States of America. Over 30 years later, the tournament returned to the continent.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup has already secured its place in history. It is the first tournament to be jointly hosted by three nations—Canada, Mexico and the United States—the first to feature 48 teams and the largest in the competition’s history. Its official soundtrack, featuring 18 songs by artistes from across the world, is FIFA’s most ambitious attempt to make music an integral part of the tournament.

Despite all the anticipation surrounding the tournament, the opening ceremonies struggled to match the grandeur of past World Cups. The most memorable World Cup spectacles have never been about celebrity appearances alone. They have used music and performance to distil a nation’s history, identity and aspirations into a few unforgettable minutes. Brazil’s 2014 ceremony, for instance, seamlessly blended music, dance and imagery drawn from its diverse cultural heritage and the Amazon rainforest.

But in Mexico, a country known for its rich culture and biodiversity, the spectacle at the famous Azteca Stadium in Mexico City didn’t measure up.

Delayed and lasting barely 15 minutes—far shorter than the half-hour spectacles audiences have come to expect—the ceremony opened with the Mexican singer-songwriter Lila Downs welcoming the spectators gathered at the 82,000 capacity stadium.

“Bienvenida a México. Welcome to Mexico.”

Celebrating Aztec culture, dancers in multicoloured indigenous costumes, including feathered headdresses, began to swirl in the field covered in a carpet of green and gold, dancing to the pulsating beats of the drums. Others were dressed in all gold and held giant golden footballs above their heads.

“We are a nation of diversity, heritage and pride. Football carries the same heartbeat, uniting generations,” Downs said, but that was how far the spectacle would go as the Mexican pop rock band Maná took to the raised platform where a gigantic World Cup, resembling the papel picado, the Mexican cut-paper craft often used in festivals and public celebrations. He sang the popular hit ‘Oye Mi Amor’, which the crowd dressed in colourful costumes belted back to him. The Venezuelan reggaeton singer Danny Ocean was next to perform, singing ‘Partizado,’ one of the tracks in the FIFA album.

Although an impressive roster of Latin and international stars—including Belinda, J Balvin and Ryan Castro—took the stage, the performances often felt like a concert playlist rather than a carefully curated cultural narrative.

However, it was the performance of ‘Dai Dai,’ the official anthem of the tournament, by the Colombian singer Shakira and Nigerian Burna Boy that brought the thrill. Accompanied by dancers dressed in cheerleading outfits, Shakira appeared in a mesh-up outfit that featured a yellow net top, shaking her hips that tell no lies as she sang, bringing back memories of her  2010 South African performance of ‘Waka Waka,’ only that the energy and spectacle in Mexico could never match it.

Dressed in a grey outfit, Burna Boy joined Shakira for the performance, bringing a distinctly African flavour to the official anthem. But not even their star power could recreate the electricity of Shakira’s iconic “Waka Waka” performance at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

A few other musicians graced the field before the match between Mexico and South Africa began, which the latter lost, including Tyla, who sang the South African national anthem.

Canada, whose opening ceremony took place on Friday, did much better in portraying its culture in a field flying its national colours of red and white.

Indigenous dancers in traditional garb started the pre-match show in a medley of chants, drums and violin before Winnipeg folk artist William Prince welcomed fans to the historic occasion. As he left, dancers pulled down the covering of the gigantic inflatable football installation in the middle of the stadium to reveal Alessa Cara, who performed ‘Wild Things’ and ‘Fire.’ The installation would later suffer a technical glitch that went viral on social media.

Dancers appeared carrying puppets of animals that are native to the nation, while others waved the national flag.

Canadian-Moroccan artist Nora Fatehi, Bangladeshi-American DJ and producer Sanjoy and French hip-hop artist Vegedream followed with ‘Siir Siir,’ their track from FIFA’s official World Cup 2026 album.

Brampton R&B singer Reyez and Palestinian pop star Elyanna sang their own track off the project, ‘Illuminate,’ as fireworks lit up the stadium.

Alanis Morissette had soccer fans ‘head over feet’ as she helped kick off Canada’s first FIFA World Cup game against Bosnia-Herzegovina at Toronto Stadium. Fighter jets streaked across the sky above the stadium as she held the song’s final note. Other performances included Michael Bublé.

The US held the last of the trio ceremonies with a tribute to Hollywood, a marching band and colourful unveiling of American colours with the initial A spread across it. That was not the only sign to grab attention. An enormous 50-ft FIFA sign appeared on the stadium as if to juggle memories of the spectators in case they forgot the tournament was organised by the sports authority.

Future and Tyla got things started by performing their 2026 World Cup song ‘Game Time.’ LISA, Anitta and Rema were up next with another track from the official World Cup album, ‘Goals.’ Katy Perry hit the field with 10-year-old Norwegian singer Tius Luka for her 2024 song ‘Wonder,’ surrounded by the flags of every country in the World Cup this year, just before the match between the US and Paraguay that ended in a 4-1 win for the Americans.

As far as World Cup opening ceremonies go, the combined efforts of the three host nations are unlikely to linger in football’s collective memory. There were flashes of brilliance and no shortage of global star power, but few moments capable of transcending the event itself. Even the official anthem, ‘Dai Dai,’ struggles to command the emotional pull of classics such as ‘Waka Waka,’ which remains synonymous with the tournament more than a decade later. Fans can only hope that the matches will deliver memorable experiences that the opening ceremonies could not.