Burna Boy to Headline Historic NFL Paris Game Halftime Show

Nigerian Afrobeats superstar Burna Boy has been announced as the headliner for the halftime show at the NFL’s first-ever regular-season game in Paris, marking another historic milestone in his career. The Grammy-winning artist will perform on Sunday, October 25, 2026, when the Pittsburgh Steelers face the New Orleans Saints at the Stade de France, with kickoff scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CEST (9:30 a.m. ET).

The announcement, made by the NFL on Thursday, September 17, 2026, places Burna Boy at the center of a landmark moment for the league as it expands its international footprint. The Paris performance is part of a record seven halftime shows staged across the 2026 NFL International Games, spanning seven countries and four continents.

Burna Boy, whose real name is Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, has a deep connection to the venue. In April 2025, he became the first African artist to headline a solo concert at the Stade de France, performing to a sold-out audience of more than 80,000 people. “Paris gave me one of the biggest nights of my career, and to walk back into Stade de France for a moment like this means everything,” Burna Boy said in a statement. “The NFL is bringing something to France that has never happened here before, and I get to stand in the middle of it representing African music and I intend to give the people a show they will not forget”.

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Tim Tubito, the NFL’s senior director of global game presentation, music and entertainment, said Burna Boy was the natural choice for the occasion. “The first NFL game in France deserves a halftime moment that matches the occasion, and there is no artist better suited to it than Burna Boy,” Tubito said. “Paris is one of the great cultural capitals of the world, and African music sits right at the heart of what the city listens to. Burna Boy has already made history in this stadium, and bringing him back to perform in front of a global audience gives us the chance to create something genuinely memorable”.

Burna Boy’s selection underscores the growing global influence of Afrobeats and African music. He has landed nine tracks on the Billboard Hot 100, including “Dai Dai,” his 2026 FIFA World Cup collaboration with Shakira, which topped Billboard’s Global Charts and surpassed one billion views on YouTube. France is his third most popular market for streams, behind the United States and the United Kingdom. In 2021, he won the Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album with Twice As Tall.

The halftime show will be broadcast live in France free-to-air on France Télévisions and on beIN Sports, with L’Équipe broadcasting the game later the same evening. Burna Boy joins a star-studded lineup of international halftime performers for the 2026 season, including the Jonas Brothers in Melbourne, Ricky Martin and Pedro Sampaio in Rio de Janeiro, Ayra Starr in London, Cage the Elephant in Munich, and The Warning in Mexico City.

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