World Cup Opening Ceremonies Split Across Three Host Nations, with Maná, Katy Perry, Tyla

The 2025 FIFA World Cup will open with not one ceremony but three, each tied to the first match played in a host country. FIFA confirmed that Mexico City, Los Angeles, and a yet unspecified Canadian city will stage their own live music events, scrapping the single grand opener for a geographically split format that mirrors the tournament’s expanded footprint across the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca holds the opening game on June 11, with Mexico facing South Africa. For that night, the lineup pulls heavily from Mexican rock and pop: Maná, Los Angeles Azules, Belinda, and Alejandro Fernández will perform. Tyla, whose second album arrives this summer, represents the South African side of the match and the broader push to include artists from participating nations.

On June 12, SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles hosts the U.S. opener against Paraguay. Katy Perry is set to headline, though the full slate of performers for that evening has not been detailed. The broader list of names attached to the ceremonies includes Alanis Morissette, Future, and Lisa, pointing to a wildly varied programme across the three dates. Their specific placements remain unannounced.

The decision to break the opening into three distinct events, each carrying its own cultural weight, speaks to a World Cup edition that wants to feel less like a touring circus and more like a shared continent hosting on its own terms. It also turns each opening match into a showcase of local music that doubles as an entry point for a global audience. The risk, as always with ceremonies this fragmented, is whether the sum of the parts can match the usual singular spectacle. FIFA is betting that three different stages, three different crowds, and three different musical identities will feel more honest to the scale of the tournament than one polished, placeless show.