The Muppets, Sesame Street, and More Joining First-Ever FIFA World Cup Final Halftime Show!

Not only is Sesame Street collaborating with Fox Sports on the FIFA World Cup coverage, but  they will join The Muppets, Madonna, Shakira, and BTS at the first-ever FIFA World Cup Final Halftime Show.

The halftime show is curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, who has a long history of working with The Jim Henson Company. The Henson Creature Shop created "The Weirdo's" band that  appeared on tour with Martin's band Coldplay for the last few years. 

In the announcement video, Martin is joined by Elmo, Cookie Monster, Kermit, Miss Piggy, Animal, and more to brainstorm acts for the show. 

Sesame Street Muppets will also help Fox Sports cover the World Cup. The Count will have a statistics segment and Oscar the Grouch will host “Trash Talk.” Grover will be featured in a segment about how a World Cup match is called on TV. Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Big Bird will also appear.

Here is the official video announcing The Muppets and the Sesame Street gang joining Chris Martin, BTS, Madonna, and Shakira for the first ever World Cup Half-Time Show to support Global Citizen children's education initiatives!

Martin said the show is “a chance to show how amazing all different kinds of humans are.”

More info on Global Citizen here. 

The World Cup kicks off on June 11 and the final / half time show will be held at the New York / New Jersey Stadium (AKA Giants Stadium) on July 19, 2026.

Sesame Street Teams With Fox Sports For FIFA Coverage!

Sesame Street announced their collaboration with Fox Sports this week to promote the FIFA World Cup.

The collaboration began Tuesday, marking 30 till the games begin, with social media clips and will eventually see the Sesame Street characters integrated into Fox Sports’ World Cup programming with special content segments throughout the summer leading up to and through the final game.

Elmo, Cookie Monster and Big Bird are among the characters set to appear.

The segments will include “The Count Down” with Count von Count analyzing statistics from the tournament, “Trash Talk” with Oscar the Grouch offering a satirical highlight round-up, and “Broadcaster Bootcamp” that allows Grover to learn from Fox Sports personalities about the nuances of broadcasting a game.

The 2026 World Cup takes place in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Spanning 140 tournament matches, runing June 11-July 19.