Burna Boy is heading back to Stade de France, and this time he’s doing it at the center of American football’s biggest international push yet.
The Grammy-winning Nigerian artist will headline the halftime show on October 25 when the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the New Orleans Saints in what will be the NFL’s first-ever regular-season game on French soil.
It’s a full-circle moment for Burna Boy, who made history at the very same stadium last year as the first African artist to headline Stade de France. He’s not treating this lightly either. “
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,” he said in a statement to the Associated Press.
He also made his intentions clear about what the performance means beyond the spectacle. 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.”
That framing, positioning himself as a representative of a whole genre and continent, is very much on brand for an artist who has spent years pushing Afrobeats onto the world’s biggest stages.
From the NFL’s side, the decision was deliberate. Tim Tubito, the league’s senior director of global game presentation, music and entertainment, said Burna Boy’s existing connection to the stadium and the deep popularity of African music in Paris made him the obvious pick.
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.
The Paris game is part of the NFL’s largest international season to date, spanning multiple countries and four continents.
The league is staging a record seven halftime shows this year, leaning hard into the strategy of pairing overseas games with artists who actually resonate in those local markets. It’s a smarter approach than dropping a generic act into a foreign city and hoping for the best.
Burna Boy joins a genuinely eclectic international lineup. Ricky Martin and Pedro Sampaio are set for the Rio de Janeiro game on September 27, Ayra Starr will perform in London on October 11, Cage the Elephant takes Munich on November 15, and Mexican rock trio The Warning close things out in Mexico City on November 22.
The Jonas Brothers already performed earlier this month at the league’s Melbourne game, kicking off what has become a globe-spanning music series wrapped around football.
Burna Boy’s catalog runs deep across Afrobeats, hip-hop, reggae, and R&B, with a Grammy for his 2020 album “Twice as Tall” anchoring his mainstream credibility.
His more recent work includes “No Sign of Weakness,” and his back catalogue covers everything from “African Giant” to “Love, Damini.”
He has built one of the most consistent touring operations in African music, filling arenas and stadiums across the world while pulling younger African artists into increasingly global conversations.
The halftime show will air live in France on France Televisions and beIN Sports, giving the performance a broadcast platform that extends well beyond the stadium itself.
With the NFL still actively building its footprint in France, this game carries real weight as a test of how the sport can grow in a market that has never had a regular-season game before.
October 25 is still months away, and the details of what Burna Boy actually brings to that stage are still very much an open question.
