Dan Mullan/Getty Images Will Smith will appear at the FIFA World Cup closing ceremony on Sunday to perform the official song of the tournament, "Live It Up", alongside singers Nicky Jam and Era Istrefi. The trio collaborated on the song, which was produced by American DJ Diplo and released in the weeks leading up to the tournament: The ceremony will take place shortly before the World Cup final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, where France will take on Croatia at 6 p.m. local time (4 p.m. BST/11 a.m. ET). The performance is slated to start 30 minutes before the teams come on to the pitch. It will be broadcast by the BBC and ITV in the UK, while in the United States, it can be seen on Fox and Telemundo. At a press conference ahead of the closing ceremony, Smith revealed his delight at contributing to the tournament: "This is the biggest sporting event in the world. When I was asked to be a part of it, I didn't even have to think about it. The World Cup is a magical, global energy. I love being a part of it." He also discussed his friendship with Brazil star Neymar and his admiration for Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo: Video Play Button Videos you might like Along with Smith, Jam and Istrefi, Russian opera singer Aida Garifullina—who also appeared in the opening ceremony—and Russian DJ Andrey Leonidovich Shirman, better known as DJ Smash, will also feature. Jam also hinted at the press conference that there will be an unexpected guest appearance to look out for: "There may be a surprise in the show: a colleague and a friend may join us, so watch the show!" "Power" by Exo will also be played in the stadium after narrowly edging out fellow K-pop band BTS' "Fake Love" in a poll conducted by FIFA on Twitter: At the conclusion of the ceremony shortly before kick-off, the World Cup trophy will make its entrance with 2014 World Cup-winning captain Philipp Lahm and supermodel and philanthropist Natalia Vodianova in a travel case specially designed by Louis Vuitton.<doc-sep>The opening ceremony included a performance of Robbie Williams, who caused some controversy. Will Smith will perform at the closing ceremony of the soccer World Cup at Moscow's Luzhniki stadium this Sunday (July 15). He will sing "Live it Up," the tournament's official song, alongside U.S. singer Nicky Jam and Kosovar singer and songwriter Era Istrefi. Further details of the closing ceremony have not been revealed yet. The World Cup kicked off nearly a month ago with a performance of Robbie Williams, during which the British singer courted controversy by showing the middle finger. Later, he played down the incident, saying he just used his middle finger to do a countdown. But some observers interpreted it as a gesture of defiance to commentators condemning him for the decision to perform in Russia despite the country's extremely strained relations with the West and, especially, the United Kingdom.<doc-sep>It seems like the culture turned on Will Smith for a few years. After reaching heights of stardom that only a few other actors have touched, Smith starred in several movies that weren't received well by audiences. It didn't help that he was snubbed at the Oscars for his performance in Consussion, and that Suicide Squad was ridiculed by critics. At some point in 2018, Smith must have decided that he was ready for a major comeback and the multi-talented artist took over social media. Smith teamed up with Nicky Jam, Diplo, and singer and songwriter Era Istrefi to create the official anthem for the FIFA World Cup. Entitled "Live It Up," the catchy single sounds like a mix of reggae and electronic vibes with a slight hip-hop twist. Smith, Nicky Jam, ad Istrefi will perform the song tomorrow (July 15) at the closing ceremony for the soccer World Cup at Moscow's Luzhniki stadium. France is facing Croatia in the finals, and the former is heavily favored to win. This will be Croatia's first World Cup finals appearance, and they had to fight to reach this match. France has had a much easier road getting to the finals, but this match-up could prove to be their undoing.<doc-sep>The actor and rapper, who will perform the official World Cup song ahead of Sunday’s final, also admits he loves Cristiano Ronaldo’s fashion sense<doc-sep>
US actor and singer Will Smith, who will perform at the World Cup closing ceremony in Moscow on Sunday, has said that Americans are “cut off” from the “magical global energy” and joy that the tournament brings. At the press conference dedicated to his World Cup performance, Smith remembered his first encounter with the global event in South Korea back in 2002. Read more “[The 2002 World Cup in] Seoul was the first World Cup that I went to,” Smith said. “And it was the first time that I really got to experience it first-hand on the ground. And you know being from America we say football meaning something different. That was an introduction for me and I sort of realized how much as Americans we were cut off from the world and the joy in that world. From that point I’ve been to three of the last four World Cup events. It is such a massive energy.” “It’s just an absolutely magical global energy that I love being a part of,” he added. Smith also said that he always enjoys visiting such a “historically rich” country as Russia, which makes him realize how young America is. “I’ve been here [in Russia] a few times, I think the first time was [when we filmed] ‘I, Robot,’ so it was like 14-15 years ago. So that was my first time,” the actor said. READ MORE: Putin to hand World Cup host mantle to Qatari emir at Sunday ceremony “What is always special for me, when you come to some place like Russia with that much history… America is really a young country. When you get into places you know like just how old things are and how rich and how much history there is. So for me it’s as far and as different from America in terms of architecture as a place can be. I always enjoy it artistically.” Smith will sing the tournament's official song "Live it Up," at Luzhniki stadium alongside US star Nicky Jam and Kosovan singer and songwriter Era Istrefi.