The 2026 FIFA World Cup opened with a dazzling blend of football, music and global culture on Thursday night, and at the centre of the celebration was Nigerian music star Damini Ogulu, better known as Burna Boy, whose performance helped set the tone for the biggest tournament in football.
Inside Mexico City's iconic Estadio Azteca, a renovated venue with an 80,000-seat capacity, thousands of spectators witnessed a colourful opening ceremony ahead of the tournament's first match between host nation Mexico and South Africa. The event marked the official start of a World Cup that will be staged across Mexico, the United States and Canada.
One of the evening's defining moments came when Burna Boy teamed up with Colombian superstar Shakira for a live performance of "Dai Dai," the official anthem of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The song made its debut on football's grandest stage, drawing enthusiastic reactions from fans inside the stadium and millions watching around the world.
Shakira, dressed in a bright yellow outfit, commanded the stage alongside a troupe of dancers, while Burna Boy delivered his featured sections with the charisma and energy that have made him one of Africa's most recognisable global music exports. Their collaboration quickly became one of the most talked-about highlights of the opening ceremony, generating significant attention across social media platforms.
The celebration itself was designed to match the scale of the tournament. Spectators were treated to elaborate choreography, a giant World Cup trophy display and a fireworks spectacle that illuminated the historic venue as the competition officially got underway.
Beyond the excitement inside the stadium, the World Cup is set to make history through its size and reach. The 2026 edition features an expanded field of 48 national teams and will be contested across 104 matches before concluding on July 19.
The popularity of "Dai Dai" had already been building before Thursday's performance. According to early industry reception, including coverage by Billboard, the anthem has enjoyed strong global engagement since its release in mid-May, gaining rapid visibility across streaming platforms in the lead-up to the tournament.
As football's month-long festival begins across North America, the opening ceremony delivered a reminder that the World Cup is about more than the action on the pitch as it is also a showcase of culture, creativity and global influence, and this year, Nigeria had a prominent place in that story through Burna Boy's commanding appearance on one of the world's biggest stages.
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