Brits reveal celebs they’d most like to see at first ever World Cup half-time show – does your favourite make the list?

ED SHEERAN, Fleetwood Mac, and Coldplay, have been voted the acts Brits would most like to see play the first ever World Cup half-time show.

At least 13% of Brits would like to see Taylor Swift take the stage at the final in New York, in July 2026, according to a poll of 2,005 adults.

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The same amount voted for Oasis, with Lady Gaga just outside the top five.

The scheme is designed to try and make the World Cup final more akin to the Superbowl, where the half-time performance often brings more eyeballs than the sporting event itself.

Louise Care, from research agency OnePoll, which conducted the survey, said: “Coldplay are putting the event together – will they be able to resist taking to the stage themselves?

“They scored highly among the artists people would like to see play the show, so there is goodwill towards them taking on this honour.

“There’s still plenty of time for these decisions to be made, and time will tell whether a World Cup half-time show grows to rival the pop culture relevance of its American football counterpart.”

The study went on to find 11% would enjoy seeing Eminem headline the show, just ahead of superstar Beyoncé (10%).

Rocker Rod Stewart picked up 8% of the public vote, with Foo Fighters (8%) and Arctic Monkeys (7%) also in the list.

And while rock was deemed the musical genre people would most like to see performed by 44%, 51% would rather enjoy some upbeat pop.

And just 20% would pick hip hop or rap, akin to Kendrick Lamar’s headline-grabbing turn at this year’s Superbowl.

With only 14% preferring to see a solo artist, and 23% believing they’d enjoy a full band ensemble more.

To make a half-time show more appealing, 31% would like to see some form of tribute to footballing history.

But 43% would be happy with explosive firework or lights shows.

Louise Care from OnePoll.com added: “There have long been big music displays kicking off these international tournaments.

“But the idea of putting one on at half time is quite a new idea, when it comes to football.

“As they’ve only got 15 minutes to spare between halves, here’s hoping Coldplay pick someone with short songs.”

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