The trilogy closes in Hollywood. After Mexico opens the tournament on June 11 and Canada steps up the next afternoon, the USA opening ceremony brings the curtain-raiser sequence to its loudest finale at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Katy Perry headlines a lineup that pulls together American pop, Atlanta hip-hop, K-pop, Afrobeats, Brazilian funk, and South African R&B onto one stage, 90 minutes before the United States takes the field against Paraguay.
This is the largest of the three ceremonies by stadium capacity, by performer star power, and by global broadcast reach. The 4:30 PM PDT kickoff window catches American living rooms in early evening, hits Europe in late-night primetime, and lands in early Saturday morning across Asia, giving FIFA its biggest shared-eyeball moment of the trilogy.
Last Updated: May 10, 2026
When Does the USA Opening Ceremony Start?
The USA opening ceremony begins on Friday, June 12, 2026, at 4:30 PM local time (PDT) at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium). The show runs exactly 90 minutes before the United States faces Paraguay in the host nation’s opening match at 6:00 PM PDT.
The full ceremony runs roughly 13 minutes, sequenced to lead directly into the team walkout. This early-evening Pacific window is engineered for maximum global pickup: prime working-day evening hours across the Americas, late-night primetime in Western Europe, and Saturday breakfast across East Asia and Australia. For a full breakdown of start times in 44 countries across all three ceremonies, see our FIFA World Cup 2026 opening ceremony start times by country on the homepage.
SoFi Stadium: The Stadium Hosting the USA Opening Ceremony
SoFi Stadium, branded as Los Angeles Stadium for the tournament under FIFA’s policy on commercial venue names, is the most expensive sports venue ever built. Constructed at a reported $5 billion on the former Hollywood Park Racetrack site, the stadium opened in 2020 and houses both the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers of the NFL.
For the World Cup, the venue has been adapted to FIFA’s requirements: the artificial turf has been replaced with natural grass on a modular tray system, field-level seats have been removed to accommodate the wider regulation pitch, and capacity has been set near 70,000 for tournament matches. The stadium will host eight World Cup matches, the second-most of any venue in the tournament behind only New York New Jersey Stadium: five group stage games, two Round of 32 fixtures, and a quarterfinal on July 10.
The venue’s translucent ETFE roof, made of 302 panels with mechanical ventilation, sits 100 feet below street level due to FAA radar restrictions from neighboring Los Angeles International Airport. For a ceremony stage, that geometry creates a built-in dome amphitheater effect: every camera angle frames the production against either the cathedral roof or the seamless seating bowl. No other 2026 host venue offers the same broadcast-engineered look.
Hollywood-Scale Trophy: The USA Visual Concept
Italian creative agency Balich Wonder Studio produces all three opening ceremonies under one shared creative thread, reimagining the FIFA World Cup Trophy through the cultural lens of each host nation. In the United States, that thread is Hollywood-scale spectacle.
Where Mexico’s papel picado leaned into folk craft and Canada’s mosaic leaned into multicultural composition, the LA ceremony goes the opposite direction: maximalist, screen-first, designed to translate to the world’s biggest LED walls and broadcast feeds. The trophy reveal sequence is built around layered stage technology, choreographed lighting, and large-scale visuals that frame the World Cup Trophy as the centerpiece of a global pop spectacle, not a national folk artifact.
The lineup itself is the concept made literal. Eight artists, six languages, five continents represented. The FIFA announcement frames it as a celebration of the United States as the world’s cultural mixing point. The shared heartbeat thread connecting all three ceremonies finds its loudest expression here: not one identity, but the convergence of many, all on one stage.
USA Opening Ceremony Performers
The USA opening ceremony lineup is the most globally diverse of the three ceremonies, anchored by Katy Perry as headliner. Each artist appears under FIFA’s official confirmation announced May 8, 2026.
Katy Perry anchors the show. The American pop superstar has sold over 151 million records globally and headlined the highest-rated Super Bowl halftime show in history (2015), making her one of the most-experienced stadium-scale headliners working today.
Future brings Atlanta hip-hop. The four-time Grammy-winning rapper has charted 11 number-one Billboard 200 albums, with collaborations spanning Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and Metro Boomin making him one of the most-streamed hip-hop artists of his generation.
LISA makes history. The Thai-born BLACKPINK member becomes the first female K-pop artist ever to perform at a FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, following BTS’s Jungkook at Qatar 2022. She is also the first Thai national to appear at a World Cup opening, a milestone Thai media is treating as a national cultural moment.
Anitta brings Brazilian energy. The Rio de Janeiro-born pop and funk superstar has charted globally with hits in Portuguese, Spanish, and English, and her presence anchors the ceremony’s Latin component alongside Mexico City’s J Balvin slot the night before.
Rema carries Afrobeats. The Nigerian artist’s track “Calm Down” with Selena Gomez became the first African artist-led song to surpass one billion Spotify streams and remains the biggest Afrobeats song of all time. His inclusion places African pop at the center of the largest televised sporting event of the year.
Tyla returns. The South African Grammy winner is the only artist booked at two ceremonies, having opened the trilogy in Mexico City the night before. Her double-booking signals her status as one of FIFA’s central global ambassadors for the tournament’s music slate.
Sanjoy brings the production energy. The Bangladeshi-American DJ-producer, born in Dhaka and based in Los Angeles, performs at both the Toronto and LA ceremonies, bridging South Asian-influenced dance and pop sounds across both stages.
Additional artists are still to be announced, with FIFA confirming the headliner lineup while leaving slots for further reveals as the tournament approaches.
“This opening ceremony in Los Angeles represents the extraordinary scale of what the FIFA World Cup 2026 will become. The lineup of artists reflects the cultural diversity of the United States and the vibrancy of its many diasporas, highlighting the nation’s rich influence on music, entertainment and pop culture, while showcasing the power of music to bring people together across the country.”
— Gianni Infantino, FIFA President
See the Complete List of World Cup Opening Ceremony Performers
USA Opening Ceremony Live Stream Guide
Every major broadcaster carrying the USA vs Paraguay match also airs the pre-show ceremony. The 4:30 PM PDT start hits prime international windows across multiple time zones.
| Country | TV Broadcaster | Streaming |
|---|---|---|
| USA | FOX (English), Telemundo (Spanish) | Peacock, FOX Sports, YouTube TV, Fubo |
| Canada | CTV, TSN, RDS | TSN+, CTV app |
| Mexico | Televisa, TV Azteca | ViX, TV Azteca digital |
| UK | BBC, ITV (free) | BBC iPlayer, ITVX |
| Germany | ARD, ZDF (free), MagentaTV (full) | ARD/ZDF Mediathek, MagentaTV app |
| France | M6 (free) | 6play |
| Italy | RAI | RaiPlay |
| Spain | Mediapro dedicated channel | Mediapro digital |
| Australia | SBS (free) | SBS On Demand |
| Brazil | Globo | Globoplay |
| MENA | beIN SPORTS | beIN Connect |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | SuperSport | DStv Stream |
| South Korea | Coupang Play, SBS | Coupang Play app, SBS streaming |
| Thailand | TrueVisions | TrueID app |
| India / South Asia | Rights deal pending (as of May 2026) | TBA |
Free-to-air access is available in the UK on BBC and ITV, in Australia on SBS, in France on M6, in Germany on ARD and ZDF, and in Brazil on Globo’s open channel. American viewers stream through Peacock, watch broadcast on FOX, or get Spanish-language coverage on Telemundo.
Stick to official broadcaster apps and channels. Pirate streams routinely deliver poor quality, missing audio, mid-show cutouts, or device security risks.
USA vs Paraguay: A Group D Opener With High Stakes
The match is more than the host nation’s tournament debut. It is the United States’ first home World Cup match in 32 years, since the 1994 tournament when the country last hosted the event. The USMNT enters the tournament under head coach Mauricio Pochettino, with the Group D opener against Paraguay framed as both a statement match and a winnable opener against a tactical South American opponent.
Paraguay returns to the World Cup after missing both the 2014 and 2018 tournaments, and reaching this stage marks a significant rebuild for La Albirroja. The matchup gives the SoFi crowd a competitive opener with genuine narrative stakes: a host nation expected to advance from the group, against a team carrying its own redemption story.
How to Buy USA Opening Ceremony Tickets
Tickets bundle the opening ceremony with the USA vs Paraguay match. There is no separate ceremony-only ticket. Entry-level seats start around $250, with premium hospitality packages from approximately $4,500 per person.
The only legitimate purchase route is FIFA.com/tickets, which uses a phased lottery system for high-demand fixtures. The USA opener is among the most heavily oversubscribed matches in the tournament, with FIFA’s hospitality program through On Location handling the highest tier of access.
See our full opening ceremony ticket guide for category breakdowns, sales windows, hospitality packages, and the FIFA lottery process.
When SoFi Stadium lights up on June 12, the USA opening ceremony doesn’t just close the trilogy. It hands the tournament to its biggest broadcast moment, in its biggest market, with its biggest pop lineup. Set your timezone, pick your stream, and watch the United States take the stage to welcome the world.
