Ayra Starr will headline the 2026 NFL London Game halftime show as the Eagles face the Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 11 October.
The Halftime Show at 2026 NFL London Game has its headliner: Ayra Starr will perform at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, 11 October, as the Philadelphia Eagles face the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Kick-off is scheduled for 2.30 pm BST, with the Beninese-Nigerian Afrobeats star taking one of the NFL’s most visible international stages as the league pushes further than ever beyond the United States.
Ayra Starr gives NFL London a sharper cultural edge
There is an obvious temptation for a league expanding globally to arrive with all the subtlety of a marching band in a hotel lobby. The smarter move is to understand the market it is entering.
Ayra Starr is a pointed choice for London. Since her 2021 debut, she has passed seven billion global streams and one billion YouTube views, earned two GRAMMY nominations for Best African Music Performance and won the BET Award for Best International Act.
She has also performed on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage, giving her a connection to a British audience that goes beyond simply flying in for the afternoon.
Her third studio album, Starrgirl, was released on 14 August through Mavin Records/Republic Records, with collaborations including ZAYN, Leon Thomas and Wizkid. The timing gives the NFL a current artist with fresh material rather than a heritage act wheeled out because somebody in a boardroom recognised the chorus.
“I am so excited to perform at the NFL halftime show in London,” said Ayra Starr. “London is one of my favorite places in the world and to bring Starrgirl to the NFL global stage is a dream come true for me. I can’t wait to see you guys there!”
Why the NFL-Ayra Starr pairing makes sense
The performance is part of seven halftime shows presented by American Express across the 2026 NFL International Games, covering seven countries and four continents. That is a record programme for a season in which the NFL is staging more international games than ever before.
London remains the established base of that overseas operation. Sixty-two regular-season NFL games have now been played outside the United States, with the capital among host cities including Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Madrid, Dublin, São Paulo, Mexico City and Toronto.
The choice also reflects London’s place in the international rise of African music. NFL senior director Tim Tubito described the city as “one of the most influential music cities in the world” and said African music had been central to that conversation for years.
That may sound suspiciously like an executive has noticed culture happening outside the executive suite. On this occasion, though, the logic is sound.
Eagles v Jaguars gets a show beyond the scoreboard
The Eagles-Jaguars fixture is the second of two consecutive Sunday games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Indianapolis Colts face Washington Commanders there on 4 October, with alternative halftime entertainment planned and further details still to come.
A third London regular-season game will be staged at Wembley Stadium.
For the NFL, the music is not decoration around the football so much as part of the event architecture. A London game has long had to serve committed NFL followers alongside a wider crowd drawn by the scale and spectacle of an American league dropping into north London.
Ayra Starr gives the second group a good reason not to disappear towards the concourse at halftime.
How to watch the Ayra Starr NFL London halftime show
Ayra Starr’s full halftime performance will be shown live in the UK, free-to-air on 5 and also on Sky Sports.
The game begins at 2.30 pm BST on Sunday, 11 October at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Ticket information for the 2026 NFL London Games is available through the NFL’s London ticketing channels.
A bigger international stage for the NFL
The London announcement follows confirmation of the Jonas Brothers for the NFL Melbourne Game on 10 September, and Ricky Martin and Pedro Sampaio for the Rio game on 27 September.
The wider 2026 international schedule includes games in London, Madrid, Melbourne, Mexico City, Munich, Paris and Rio de Janeiro, with Melbourne, Paris and Rio listed as new markets or cities for 2026.
The scale tells its own story. The NFL is no longer treating international games as occasional exports with a few flags hung around the stadium. It is building full event weekends, and music is increasingly part of the sales pitch.
For London on 11 October, the calculation is neat: one of the league’s most established overseas markets, two recognisable NFL teams and an artist whose career already moves easily between African, British and global pop culture.
The football will still decide the winner. Halftime, for once, may have ambitions of its own.
