FIFA said this afternoon that Tom Cruise, Laura Pausini, Nicole Scherzinger, Robbie Williams, and internet streamer IShowSpeed will be among the names that will perform as part of the World Cup closing ceremony.
The closing ceremony will take place on Sunday, 19 July, at MetLife Stadium. The organization didn’t elaborate on what any of the performers will be performing, but noted that Cruise will make a “special appearance.”
FIFA also confirmed that Jennifer Hudson will perform the U.S. national anthem ahead of the final.
The World Cup semifinals take place this week. France play Spain today in Dallas in the first semi, while England and Argentina face off on Wednesday in Atlanta. France continue to be the tournament favorites, with a convincing win against Morocco in the last round. England has also maintained momentum throughout the tournament, particularly after the team’s eventful win at the Azteca Stadium against Mexico in the Round of 16.
England’s win against Norway in the quarter-finals was the largest UK audience of the tournament so far. Jude Bellingham’s brace of goals knocked Norway out of the competition, with a peak of 16.8M viewers watching the 2-1 triumph on ITV1. The game, which kicked off at 10 p.m. local time at the Miami Stadium, topped the previous peak of 15M viewers for England’s opening match against Croatia last month.
The U.S. national team’s loss against Belgium in the round of 16 garnered 33.086 million viewers — the most ever for a soccer telecast in the U.S. and the largest non-NFL audience on any network in a decade, since Game 7 of the World Series on Nov. 2 2016. The viewership peaked at 41M from 9:15 pm-9:30 pm ET.
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