The National Times - Madonna, Shakira, Bieber and The Muppets light up World Cup half-time show

The star-packed, Super Bowl-style extravaganza -- a first for soccer's showpiece event -- also featured a tribute to football icon Pele, and a rendition of "Seven Nation Army" led by Gustavo Dudamel and featuring musicians from the US, Venezuela and Iran.

"Sesame Street" and "The Muppets" characters joined Coldplay and a New York elementary school choir to close out a performance designed to raise money for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which promotes access to sport for under-privileged children.

The 12-minute performance meant the total halftime break in the match between Spain and Argentina lasted 27 minutes.

- Largest since Live Aid? -

Organizers had billed the halftime show as "the single largest gathering of artists united for a cause since Live Aid," and "the most-watched 11 minutes of broadcast music performance in history".

FIFA chief Gianni Infantino predicted "a couple of billion" people would tune in.

The extended interruption to soccer's most important game had drawn some criticism over the potential impact on players' performance.

While highly unusual for soccer, the show was slightly shorter than most recent Super Bowl halftime performances, which have typically been around 13-14 minutes long.

The crowd erupted with a roar as the show began with Madonna being transported through tunnels beneath the MetLife Stadium on a dune buggy driven by Brazil soccer legends Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.

Her performance of "Music" led to an orchestra featuring the New York Philharmonic, Venezuela's Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra and Iranian violinist Bijan Mortazavi performing the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" -- a rock hit that has become a global US soccer stadium staple.

Footage of the Norway fans' "Viking row" celebration from this tournament led into K-pop sensation BTS performing their smash hit "Dynamite," rewritten with soccer-specific lyrics, before "Ted Lasso" star Jason Sudeikis and his "Coach Beard" sidekick Brendan Hunt made a surprise appearance.

They introduced Canadian pop megastar Bieber, who performed an emotional, World Cup-tailored version of "Everything Hallelujah," before Shakira and Nigerian singer Burna Boy ramped the energy back up with this World Cup's anthem, "Dai Dai," accompanied by Ugandan dancers.

- 'Driving force' -

Ggiant screens showed footage of Brazil's late soccer icon Pele from 1977, addressing the crowd at the old Giants Stadium on this same New Jersey site following his final professional game. Pele passed away in 2022, months after the last World Cup.

PS22 Chorus, a New York school choir that has gone viral globally with YouTube covers of popular hits, closed out the show, with Coldplay -- whose singer Chris Martin curated the entire performance -- and characters from "The Muppets" and "Sesame Street."

The FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund was described by organizers as the "driving force" behind the halftime show.

It disburses cash to community groups that provide education and sport to under-priviliged children in countries from Ghana and South Africa to France and the United Kingdom.

The fund aims to raise $100 million. It had passed $60 million before the show, including a $1 donation from every World Cup ticket sold, plus contributions from corporations, nation states and private donors.

FIFA has already announced 58 groups that will receive grants, reaching 400,000 children worldwide.

Even before the game, a parade of stars took the microphone to whip up the crowd.

Post Malone headlined a closing ceremony, and Tom Cruise delivered a monologue about football unifying the world -- but was largely drowned out in the stadium by singing fans.

Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger and Jennifer Hudson were among further A-list performers.

S.O'brien--TNT