Skip to main content

Tom Cruise to join star-studded 2026 FIFA World Cup closing ceremony

Tom Cruise appears in this image. (FIFA)

The closing ceremony for the 2026 FIFA World Cup just got bigger.

FIFA announced in a press release Tuesday that it has added Tom Cruise to its closing ceremony lineup, set to be held Sunday, ahead of the 2026 World Cup Final.

The Top Gun star will make a special appearance, joining a star-studded list of performers.

Also taking the World Cup stage for the closing ceremony are Italian singer-songwriter Laura Pausini, American singer and actress Nicole Scherzinger, English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams and YouTube creator IShowSpeed.

Jennifer Hudson will also help kick off the 2026 World Cup final with a special rendition of the U.S. national anthem.

“Echoing the spirit of the opening ceremonies, which welcomed the world to the greatest stage in Canada, Mexico and the United States, the closing ceremony will bring the FIFA World Cup 2026 full circle through music, culture and football, before we kick off the highly anticipated match that will crown the champions of this groundbreaking tournament,” Heimo Schirgi, chief operating officer for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, said in a statement in the press release.

The closing ceremony will begin 90 minutes before kickoff at 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.

It will be held at New York New Jersey Stadium (known outside the tournament as MetLife Stadium) in East Rutherford, New Jersey, capping the first men’s World Cup to feature an expanded 48-team field and to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Earlier this month, FIFA announced Justin Bieber as a co-headliner for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Halftime Show alongside Madonna, BTS and Shakira.

The halftime show will also include performances by singer Burna Boy, conductor Gustavo Dudamel, and the PS22 Chorus, which is the acclaimed choir of fourth and fifth graders from a public elementary school in Staten Island, New York. Coldplay will also perform.

Coldplay’s Chris Martin is curating the final halftime show, and it will be produced by Global Citizen.

The tournament kicked off June 11 in Mexico City and included an opening ceremony featuring performances from Shakira, Burna Boy, Maná, J Balvin, Belinda and Tyla.

Separate star-studded opening ceremonies were also held that week in Toronto and Los Angeles before the first whistle was blown.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Sullenberger: Boeing crashes ‘should never have happened’

▶ Watch Video: Captain "Sully" Sullenberger blasts Boeing and FAA in op-ed Captain Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III testified Wednesday before the House Subcommittee on Aviation. The hero pilot answered questions about the Boeing 737 Max 8, the type of aircraft involved in the deadly crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 last October and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March. "These crashes are demonstrable evidence that our current system of aircraft design and certification has failed us. These accidents should never have happened," Sullenberger said in his prepared remarks, adding that he has 52 years of flying experience. "I know that we must consider all the human factors of these accidents, and how system design determines how many, and what kinds of, errors will be made and how consequential they will be." "These two recent crashes happened in foreign countries, but if we do not address all of the important issues and factors they can and will happen here," Sullenberger said.  Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger speaks during a House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure hearing on the status of the Boeing 737 MAX on Capitol Hill, June 19, 2019. Andrew Harnik / AP
Read Next Story