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 start 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.
When Does the USA Opening Ceremony Start?
The USA opening ceremony begins on Friday, June 12, 2026, at 4:30 PM Pacific (PDT), which is 7:30 PM Eastern (ET), at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium). The show runs 90 minutes before the United States faces Paraguay in the host nation’s opening match. Kickoff is 6:00 PM PDT (9:00 PM ET).
The on-field ceremony is compact by design, sequenced to flow straight into the team walkout rather than stretch into a stand-alone concert. 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 $5.5 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, among the most of any venue in the tournament: five group stage games, two Round of 32 fixtures, and a quarterfinal on July 10. Only Dallas Stadium hosts more, with nine.
The venue’s translucent ETFE roof, made of 302 panels with 46 mechanized vents, 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, with the trophy rendered as a shining, glowing cup at the center of the show.
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. The artists span six languages and five continents. FIFA frames the show 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. The headline acts appear under FIFA’s official confirmation announced May 8, 2026.
Katy Perry anchors the show. One of the best-selling music artists of all time, the American pop superstar headlined the 2015 Super Bowl halftime show, which drew 118.5 million viewers and stood as the most-watched halftime show ever for a decade, making her one of the most-experienced stadium-scale headliners working today.
Future brings Atlanta hip-hop. The Grammy-winning rapper has charted multiple 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.
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 one of the biggest Afrobeats songs 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 one of a few artists appearing at more than one ceremony, having also performed in Mexico City the night before. Her repeat 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.
With the tournament now underway, FIFA has locked the headline lineup above for the LA show, with any further reveals to be confirmed on the day.
“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 (7:30 PM ET) start hits prime international windows across multiple time zones.
| Country | TV Broadcaster | Streaming |
|---|---|---|
| USA | FOX (English), Telemundo (Spanish) | FOX One, FOX Sports app, Peacock (Spanish), 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 | 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 FOX One or the FOX Sports app, watch broadcast on FOX, or get Spanish-language coverage on Telemundo and Peacock. FIFA also streams the first 10 minutes of every match free on YouTube globally.
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 under head coach Mauricio Pochettino, the Argentine appointed in 2024 with this tournament in mind, who has set a public target of reaching the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002.
Paraguay returns to the World Cup for the first time since 2010, when La Albirroja reached the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Spain. Missing the 2014, 2018, and 2022 tournaments made qualification a 16-year wait, and the squad arrives ranked around 40th in the world.
The two sides last met in November 2025, a 2-1 win for the United States, giving 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. Australia and Türkiye round out Group D.
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. This is the most expensive group stage fixture in the entire tournament, with face-value seats reported as high as around $4,105 and lottery get-in prices that started in the hundreds of dollars. FIFA uses dynamic pricing, so figures move with demand. Premium hospitality packages through On Location run well into the thousands per person.
The only legitimate primary purchase route is FIFA.com/tickets. 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.
USA Opening Ceremony FAQ
Is the USA opening ceremony the same as the FIFA World Cup 2026 opening ceremony?
No. The tournament’s official opening ceremony takes place in Mexico City on June 11, before the very first match. The USA opening ceremony at SoFi Stadium on June 12 is one of three host-nation ceremonies, staged alongside separate shows in Mexico and Canada.
Will Shakira perform at the USA opening ceremony?
No. Shakira recorded the official 2026 tournament song “Dai Dai” with Burna Boy and is associated with the Mexico City ceremony, but she is not part of the Los Angeles lineup. The USA show is headlined by Katy Perry.
Is Beyoncé performing at the 2026 World Cup opening ceremony?
No. Despite online speculation, Beyoncé is not on the confirmed lineup for any of the three 2026 World Cup opening ceremonies, including the USA show in Los Angeles.
Is there a halftime show at the USA opening match?
No. The USA opening ceremony runs before kickoff, not at halftime, and World Cup group matches do not have halftime shows. The tournament’s only halftime performance takes place at the Final on July 19 in New Jersey.
Do the performers play full concerts at the opening ceremony?
No. Each artist performs a short segment inside a compact, sequenced show that leads directly into the team walkout. The opening ceremony is a pre-match production, not a standalone concert, so expect brief sets rather than full setlists.
Why does the 2026 World Cup have three opening ceremonies?
Because the 2026 World Cup is the first to be co-hosted by three nations: the United States, Canada, and Mexico. For the first time in the tournament’s history, each host country stages its own opening ceremony to reflect its culture.
What time is the USA opening ceremony in the UK and Europe?
The USA opening ceremony starts at 12:30 AM BST on Saturday, June 13, in the United Kingdom, and 1:30 AM CEST in Central Europe. That matches the 4:30 PM PDT start in Los Angeles on Friday, June 12.
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.
