Noel Gallagher Explains His Absence From Chris Martin’s World Cup Halftime Show

Noel Gallagher has shared why he won’t be watching the Chris Martin -curated World Cup haltime show.

- READ MORE: Oasis live in Cardiff opening night review: a supersonic reunion for a new generation

The Oasis legend appeared on TalkSport to discuss the upcoming World Cup final, to be held in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 19. The final will consist of a halftime show curated by Coldplay ‘s Chris Martin – who has enlisted massive stars Madonna ,  Shakira  and  BTS to play.

When asked if Gallagher would join in with any of his own performances, he jokingly responded: “I’m doing the half-time raffle for a leg of lamb.”

He continued to say he wasn’t a fan of the upcoming show, explaining: “I don’t like changes in football. I’m looking forward to these new rules about corners and time-wasting, that might be a good thing for the game, but I don’t like the razzmatazz of football; it’s been functioning perfectly for hundreds of years.”

Gallagher then cheekily added: “They’re not really football people who are performing anyway, are they?” Watch the exchange at 10 minutes down below:

This year’s World Cup will take place between June 11 and July 19, 2026 across 16 cities in Canada, Mexico and the United States – the first time the competition will be hosted across countries.

There will be three separate opening ceremonies, with Mexico’s celebrations kicking off at 6:30pm today (June 11). Shakira and Burna Boy are expected to perform their collaboration and World Cup anthem ‘Dai Dai’, with J Balvin , Tyla , and plenty more joining them.

Canada’s opening ceremony will be staged the following day (June 12), with Alanis Morissette ,  Alessia Cara, Michael Bublé , and more to kick off proceedings .

Finally,  Katy Perry ,  Future ,  Anitta ,  Lisa ,  Rema , and Tyla will headline the opening ceremony in the US  on June 13.

Elsewhere, Noel Gallagher has responded to the news of appearing in the Rich List , adding that he “still hasn’t seen” the upcoming Oasis documentary.

The post Noel Gallagher on why he won’t be watching the Chris Martin-curated World Cup halftime show appeared first on NME .

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