Colombian megastar Shakira will perform as the 2026 World Cup gets up and running in Mexico on Thursday.
Shakira’s global hit ‘Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)’ released for the 2010 tournament in South Africa is still sung to this very day, though the 49-year-old has updated her catalogue for this year’s edition.
Indeed, Shakira will perform her new song ‘Dai Dai’ at Estadio Azteca alongside Burna Boy at Thursday’s opening ceremony before Mexico play against South Africa.
‘Dai Dai’ song meaning explained
‘Dai Dai’ is an Italian phrase that roughly translates into English as “let’s go” or “come on”.
In Spanish, it translates into “Vamos, Vamos.”
The music video includes clips of some of the biggest stars in soccer, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Luis Diaz and David Beckham on show.
This is the official song of the 2026 World Cup, which will be spread across three separate nations for the first time in the tournament’s history.
It has been released in support of the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which aims to raise $100million by the end of the tournament to provide children around the world with access to quality education and football opportunities.
Michael Buble and Alanis Morissette will be performing at the Canadian opening ceremony in Toronto on Friday before Canada play Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In the US, Katy Perry will headline the American opening ceremony before the USMNT host Paraguay in Los Angeles.
The 2026 edition is undoubtedly the biggest in World Cup history, not least because of it being played across three different nations.
For the first time since its conception back in 1930, there will be 48 teams competing for the ultimate prize in the sport and FIFA have certainly gone all out to stock their three opening ceremonies with some of the biggest cultural icons around.
Read more:
FIFA World Cup 2026: Shakira to perform as Mexico opening ceremony times confirmed
Why the 2026 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony won’t be held in the US
Every team that’s qualified for FIFA World Cup 2026 ahead of biggest tournament in history
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