FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Anthem: Shakira’s ‘Dai Dai’ feat. Burna Boy
From Waka Waka to Dai Dai — football’s greatest soundtrack returns, and Shakira is back at the centre of it all.
Shakira Returns: The Queen of the World Cup Anthem
There is only one artist who has defined the soundtrack of the FIFA World Cup across generations: Shakira. In 2010, her iconic Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) became one of the most recognised songs on the planet, with over 3.5 billion YouTube views. Now, for the 2026 edition hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, she is back — and she has brought Burna Boy with her.
The official anthem of FIFA World Cup 2026 is “Dai Dai”, a collaboration between Shakira and Nigerian Afrobeats superstar Burna Boy. The track was released in early 2025 and immediately embraced by football fans worldwide as the tournament’s defining musical identity. Burna Boy, who has sold out stadiums across four continents and won a Grammy Award, brings a global Afrobeats flavour that mirrors the diversity of the 48-team tournament.
🎶 “Dai Dai” by Shakira feat. Burna Boy is the official song of FIFA World Cup 2026. The collaboration represents football’s most universal language — music — uniting Latin pop and Afrobeats for the most inclusive World Cup in history.
The Copacabana Moment: Shakira in Rio
On May 2, 2026, Shakira delivered one of the most spectacular pre-tournament moments in World Cup history, performing on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — before hundreds of thousands of fans who gathered for a free open-air concert celebrating the tournament’s imminent arrival. The performance, broadcast globally, was a statement of intent: football is coming, and it is bringing the world’s biggest music with it.
The Copacabana setting — one of the most iconic urban beaches on Earth — was no accident. Brazil, despite not hosting the 2026 tournament, is one of football’s spiritual homes, and bringing Shakira there tied together the past (her 2010 triumph), the present (the 2026 tournament), and football’s universal appeal across the Americas.
Why Shakira + Burna Boy?
The pairing of Shakira and Burna Boy reflects the 2026 tournament’s unprecedented geographic spread. With 48 nations competing from every confederation, FIFA wanted an anthem that felt genuinely global — not just a Latin or European sound, but something that resonated from Lagos to Los Angeles, from Buenos Aires to Seoul.
| Artist | Origin | Style | Notable Achievement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shakira | Colombia | Latin Pop / Dance | Waka Waka — 3.5B+ views; 2010 WC anthem |
| Burna Boy | Nigeria | Afrobeats / Dancehall | Grammy Award winner; 5 sold-out world tours |
A History of World Cup Anthems
The FIFA World Cup anthem tradition stretches back decades, with songs like Nessun Dorma (1990), Ricky Martin’s La Copa de la Vida (1998), Boom by Anastasia (2002), Wavin’ Flag by K’naan (2010 — alongside Waka Waka), We Are One (Ole Ola) (2014), Live It Up (2018), and Hayya Hayya (2022). Each has become a snapshot of its era. “Dai Dai” is already earning its place in that canon.
What About the Closing Ceremony?
FIFA has confirmed there will be an opening ceremony on June 11, 2026, at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City — the iconic stadium where the World Cup will kick off with Mexico vs. South Korea. Details of the ceremony’s entertainment programme will be announced by FIFA in the weeks leading up to the tournament.
A closing ceremony is also planned around the Final on July 19, 2026, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey — the largest stadium in the tournament with a capacity of over 82,000. Entertainment details for the Final will be confirmed closer to the date.
📅 Key Dates: Opening Ceremony — June 11, 2026 at Estadio Azteca (Mexico City). Final — July 19, 2026 at MetLife Stadium (New Jersey).
FAQs
Q: What is the official song of FIFA World Cup 2026?
The official anthem is “Dai Dai” by Shakira featuring Burna Boy, released in 2025.
Q: Has Shakira done a World Cup anthem before?
Yes — Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) was the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa,
making Shakira one of the very few artists to have performed official anthems for two separate World Cups.
Q: Where does the Final take place?
The 2026 World Cup Final is scheduled for July 19, 2026, at MetLife Stadium
in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA — the largest venue in the tournament.
Q: Who is Burna Boy?
Burna Boy (born Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, 1991) is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and Grammy Award winner,
widely regarded as one of the defining voices of the Afrobeats genre globally.