Burna Boy to headline halftime at the NFL’s first game in Paris
The Grammy winner returns to Stade de France on 25 October for Steelers v Saints, the first regular-season NFL game ever played in France.
By John Christian Mmaduabuchi, Chief Editor
· · 2 min read
- Burna Boy plays halftime at Steelers v Saints, Stade de France, 25 October
- It is the first NFL regular-season game ever staged in France
- In 2025 he became the first African artist to headline Stade de France
The gist in 30 seconds
- Burna Boy plays halftime at Steelers v Saints, Stade de France, 25 October
- It is the first NFL regular-season game ever staged in France
- In 2025 he became the first African artist to headline Stade de France
Burna Boy is heading back to Stade de France, this time with American football as the backdrop. The NFL has named the Nigerian star as the halftime headliner for its first regular-season game in France, when the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the New Orleans Saints in Paris on Sunday, 25 October 2026.
The announcement, made on 17 September, carries a neat piece of symmetry. In April 2025, Burna Boy became the first African artist to headline Stade de France, and he framed his return in exactly those terms: “Paris gave me one of the biggest nights of my career.”
Part of a global push
The Paris show is one of seven halftime performances the NFL has lined up across its 2026 international games, which stretch across seven countries and four continents. Tim Tubito, the league’s senior director of global game presentation, said the first game in France deserved a halftime moment that matched the size of the occasion.
Viewers in France will be able to watch the performance live on France Télévisions and beIN Sports, according to the league, and the game is scheduled for an afternoon kick-off in Paris.
For Burna Boy, who won a Grammy for his 2020 album Twice as Tall, it is another sign of how far his reach now extends beyond the usual music venues. He already plays arenas and stadiums around the world; now he gets the halftime slot at one of American sport’s biggest overseas showcases, in a country hosting its first regular-season NFL game.
It also continues a strong run of global bookings for Nigerian artists this season, from festival headline slots to homecoming residencies, as Afrobeats keeps finding new rooms to fill.
What next: Mark Sunday, 25 October in the diary. The Steelers and the Saints meet at Stade de France, with Burna Boy taking over at the break.
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John Christian Mmaduabuchi is a Nigerian filmmaker, creative director, and media professional with extensive experience in digital storytelling, visual journalism, and contemporary media. His Journalism interests span Nigerian and African current affairs, entertainment, culture, technology, lifestyle, media, and the people shaping public conversation. With a background in film direction and documentary production, he brings a strong visual and narrative perspective to editorial work, with particular attention to context, clarity, and compelling storytelling. John is also a creative entrepreneur focused on storytelling, entertainment, culture, and digital content. His professional experience across directing, cinematography, editing, media strategy, and emerging AI technologies gives him a broad understanding of how stories are created, distributed, and consumed in the digital age. At GistMatrix, John contributes to the development and presentation of timely, engaging, and relevant stories for a contemporary audience. His approach to editorial work is grounded in accuracy, context, responsible storytelling, and a commitment to covering stories that matter.
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