Shakira is an iconic Colombian singer set to perform at the World Cup opening ceremony in Mexico this evening, and has a long personal history with the tournament19:22, 11 Jun 2026Shakira, 49, is set to take to the stage tonight in Mexico alongside Burna Boy and a whole host of other artists at the World Cup 2026 opening ceremony in Mexico City on before the hosts' fixture with South Africa.‌Colombian superstar Shakira has once more been given the responsibility of creating the official song of the World Cup and released Dai Dai, 16 years after her 2010 hit Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) which was used for the World Cup in South Africa.‌When Shakira made the 2010 hit for the World Cup she met her ex-husband Spanish football player Gerard Piqué who appeared in the music video for the hit song.‌The singer has credited the World Cup song for the birth of her children, jokingly calling them the 'Waka kids' as they would have never been born had she not made the song for the FIFA tournament.In an interview with People, she joked: "In 2010, which is when I met the father of my kids, who was playing during that World Cup. That's why I call my kids the ‘Waka' kids; I think they were born because of that song.‌"That song took me to the World Cup, the World Cup had an important impact in my life, and they were born — the best thing that has happened to me.”The couple went on to move to Barcelona, and have two sons named Milan - born in 2013 - and Sasha - born in 2015.‌The famous couple was together for years but announced their separation in 2022 in a joint statement. The couple officially parted ways following allegations of infidelity aimed at the footballer.The breakup happened while her father, William Mebarak, was in the hospital and seriously ill after a severe fall with Shakira describing the breakdown of her marriage as her "darkest moment".She told The Times : "[I was living through] the darkest moment - when I saw the dissolution of my family. The family that I had dreamt to keep forever."‌The Colombian superstar believes the experience ultimately made her stronger: "I've been through so much pain, but it has made me perhaps in an unforeseen way a wiser person - or stronger, at least...It's amazing to learn that humans have a resilience that we can resort to at any moment in our lives."She also told The Times newspaper: “No romance for me for now. There’s no space or time in my life for that. My plate is quite full.“My kids are my priority. And my career. Strangely enough, I’m in love with my career like I’ve never been in my life. I’m enjoying my time alone as well.”‌More recently, Shakira has been seen with actor Lucien Laviscount, who is 15 years her junior at 34. The duo met while filming her 2024 music video for Punteria, and soon afterwards, speculation emerged that they were dating.Laviscount, who is known for his roles on Waterloo Road and Netflix sensation Emily in Paris, was spotted having dinner in New York City with the Hips Don't Lie star.‌Shakira revealed to The Times in May: "No romance for me for now. There's no space or time in my life for that. My plate is quite full. My kids are my priority, and my career. Strangely enough, I'm in love with my career as I've never been in my life. I'm enjoying my time alone as well."Shakira is now looking at her latest World Cup appearance - 20 years after her 2006 appearance when she performed Hips Don't Lie with Wyclef Jean for the closing ceremony in Germany.‌In 2014, she also headlined the 2014 FIFA World Cup closing ceremony in Brazil, where she performed her hit song "La La La (Brazil 2014)" alongside Carlinhos Brown when she was two months pregnant.While she was keeping her pregnancy private at the time, she told People that her fans know her too well and could tell immediately that she was pregnant with her second son."Then in 2014, I was pregnant with Sasha, with my little one, and all of my fans, they saw me perform, and they're like, 'Shakira's pregnant.' And I was like a month pregnant — I was like two months maximum, but they know me so well."Article continues belowLike this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.