FIFA Taps Tom Cruise for World Cup Closing Ceremony
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- FIFA announced its closing ceremony lineup for Sunday's World Cup final, featuring Tom Cruise, IShowSpeed, Laura Pausini, Nicole Scherzinger, Robbie Williams, and Jennifer Hudson.
- Jennifer Hudson will perform the US national anthem during the ceremony; the EGOT winner joins Laura Pausini, Nicole Scherzinger, and Robbie Williams on the performer list.
- Sunday's final will also feature the tournament's first-ever half-time show with Shakira, Madonna, and BTS, curated by Coldplay's Chris Martin and described as a "historic moment for the Fifa World Cup" by president Gianni Infantino.
- The ceremony begins at 1:30pm ET at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, with kickoff at 3pm ET, and celebrates 48 teams across 16 host cities spanning Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
- Balich Wonder Studio, led by Marco Balich, is producing the show — the same firm orchestrated the Qatar 2022 opening and closing ceremonies.
- FIFA has urged ticketholders to arrive early, promising fans "will have an active role to play in the show" as chief operating officer Heimo Schirgi framed the closing as bringing the tournament "full circle."
Why it matters: The first 48-team, three-country World Cup closes with the tournament's first half-time show and Cruise's stunt-style cameo — FIFA is selling the MetLife final as a global entertainment spectacle, not just a match, enlisting ten-plus A-list names across two separate shows to maximize reach.
