Shakira knows her way around a World Cup stage.
Sixteen years after Waka Waka became one of football’s defining tournament songs, the Colombian star returned to the centre of the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Cup, with Mexico City Stadium − the tournament name for the Estadio Azteca − hosting the first of three planned opening ceremonies. She performed Dai Dai live with Nigerian star Burna Boy.
It was not another Waka Waka, which captured the joy and enthusiasm of the opening ceremony in South Africa in 2010. It did, however, confirm what the studio version already suggested: this is a polished tournament track made more for the studio than the stadium.
The problem is the extended Afrobeats middle section, which sucked the energy out of the performance, leaving Shakira and Burna Boy haplessly filling the space with limp choreography.
Of course, Shakira, pro that she is, did the best with the limited time slot. Dressed in a bright yellow sporty outfit that carried an easy echo of Colombia, she looked every bit the star and should hopefully set up a storming World Cup final half-time show, which will hopefully put Dai Dai to bed and unleash the hits.
Shakira and Burna Boy aside, other stars shone on the night, with veteran Mexican rock group Mana performing the anthemic hit Oye Mi Amor, before Colombian star J Balvin entered on what appeared to be a car made of papier-mache for a medley of hits, including Una A La Vez and I Like It.
Danny Ocean, the Venezuelan singer, also popped in with his official tournament song, the sunny reggaeton jam Partizado, after which Mexican artist Belinda joined Los Angeles Azules for Por Ella, a fun fusion of pop and cumbia.
As for the ceremony itself, it was bright and zippy … perhaps a bit too zippy.
The ceremony had plenty of colour, drums and dancers, but not enough context on what it represented.
From what we could gather, the stage design was circular, with a giant version of the World Cup at the centre that resembled papel picado, the Mexican cut-paper craft often used in festivals and public celebrations.
Dancers in feathered headdresses beat drums as other performers in metallic costumes carried giant footballs through the pitch. Meanwhile, a woman with long plaits walked among the performers, raised her hands to welcome us to Mexico and reminded us of football’s celebration.
A fine sentiment, but it all felt a tad undercooked and, even with Shakira’s star power, the event will go down as a miss.
