The World Cup half-time show received mixed reviews from critics, who described it as having "lots of stars and little purpose." The 11-minute spectacle, curated by Coldplay's Chris Martin, took place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 19 and featured an array of performers including Madonna, BTS, Justin Bieber, Shakira, and The Muppets.
Mixed Reviews from Major Outlets
The Times awarded the show two out of five stars, comparing it unfavorably to the Super Bowl half-time show. "The Americanisation of the World Cup is now complete," the review stated. The newspaper noted that the traditional 15-minute half-time break was extended to 25 minutes to mirror the Super Bowl's format, adding that the show "served to show football fans the world over an important fact: pop music is capable of being truly awful."
The New York Times praised the show for being "impeccably choreographed" but remarked that it was a half-time show few World Cup fans appeared to want. The performances were described as "all quite episodic, to the extent that they seemed to be taking place on different planes of existence," and the paper echoed the sentiment that the show had "lots of stars and little purpose."
Some Positive Notes
In a more favorable review, The Telegraph awarded the show three out of five stars, calling it "charming, friendly and intimate" compared to the more extravagant Super Bowl half-time show. However, they described Madonna's pre-filmed intro, in which she sang her 2000 hit "Music," as "underwhelming." The inclusion of the P2SS Chorus of Staten Island, a children's choir that performed at the end of the show, was praised.
The Guardian offered a lukewarm review, stating that the show "zipped along, cramming a lot into its 11 minutes by the simple expedient of paring songs down to their bare essentials and swiftly cutting between artists." However, they criticized Justin Bieber's performance of "Everything Hallelujah," calling it "downcast" and not fitting for the otherwise upbeat show.
Negative Critique from Time Magazine
Time magazine wrote that "the show as a whole was so blandly, sappily crowd-pleasing that few individual moments stood out as highlights." They also felt the show had an impossible task of trying to represent the world's music in an 11-minute performance, concluding that it "did so much that it ended up saying nothing."
Purpose and Outcome
The World Cup half-time show was produced by Fifa and Global Citizen, with the aim of raising 100 million dollars (£74 million) for the Fifa Global Citizen Education Fund, which helps end extreme poverty and increase sports access for children. In the match that followed, Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in the final, securing their first World Cup win since 2010. Spain also became the first country to simultaneously hold the men's and women's World Cup titles, having won the latter in 2023.
