Imagine Dragons to Perform at UEFA Champions League Final Opening Ceremony
Imagine Dragons will perform at next month’s UEFA Champions League final opening ceremony.
The Grammy-winning band will take to the stage at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on Saturday, June 1, just minutes before Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur compete for the biggest prize in European club football.
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Now in its fourth year, the opening ceremony is presented by Pepsi, which promised “a level of production never seen before at a UEFA Champions League Final,” including “stunning pyrotechnics and special effects.”
Last year’s opening ceremony performance by British pop singer Dua Lipa was viewed by a global TV audience of nearly 80 million, according to Pepsi/UEFA.
The event also saw the “New Rules” singer become the No. 2 trending Twitter topic globally on the night of the final, while her full performance, which featured a guest appearance by Sean Paul, has been watched over 11 million times on UEFA’s channels making it their most viewed piece of social content ever.
This year’s Champions League final will air in over 200 countries and territories around the world.
In a statement, Imagine Dragons’ singer Dan Reynolds said the band was “honored to be playing the UEFA Champions League Final Opening Ceremony with Pepsi for some of the most passionate sports fans on the planet.” He added: “It’s going to be a great show in Madrid.”
“As a brand with a legendary history in both music and football, there is nothing bigger or better for Pepsi than the UEFA Champions League Final Opening Ceremony,” said PepsiCo VP marketing, global beverages Natalia Filippociants.
“Each year, we have raised the performance bar and the energy in the stadium minutes before kick-off. And to be able to bring today’s ultimate rock band, Imagine Dragons, to the stage with us for what is sure to be an electrifying Final, is a true celebration of where this partnership has come – and where it is going,” added Filippociants.
UEFA Events Guy-Laurent Epstein promised a “rock show football fans never forget.”
In addition to presenting the opening ceremony show, Pepsi will also host a number of free-to-enter music concerts in Madrid in the four days running up to the June 1 final.
EDM duo Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike and Now United, the international pop group formed by Spice Girls manager and American Idol creator Simon Fuller, who signed a global sponsorship deal with Pepsi earlier this year, are among the acts scheduled to perform.
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