Ahead of the 2014 UEFA Champions League final — a Madrid derby in Lisbon’s Estadio da Luz — famed choreographer Wanda Rokicki said the prematch entertainment would honor Portuguese traditions “including naval history or the art of tiles.” The following year in Berlin, an estimated 180 million viewers in 200 countries watched Barcelona dust Juventus 3-1, but not before opera stars Nina-Marie Fischer and Manuel Gomez Ruiz sang hymns with the Junges Ensemble Berlin Choir.
Somehow that was a departure from the 2013 iteration, which included a giant game of chess, 300-plus drummers and Joey, the equine puppet from Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse,” galloping around the Wembley pitch.
Europe’s answer for a Super Bowl halftime show, this was not.
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But that was all before PepsiCo — whose 10-year Super Bowl halftime show sponsorship deal ended last year — entered into a partnership with UEFA that has seen it sponsor the Kick Off Show since 2015. In 2016, fresh from joining Season 11 of “The Voice,” Alicia Keys — keen to point out that the UCL final reaches “every corner of the world” — debuted new music in Milan ahead of that year’s final.
“By creating a global stage as part of the UEFA Champions League final for the first time will produce an epic, memorable moment that will draw an even broader global fan base to the pitch, elevate the excitement of the 2016 final, and establish a new tradition for one of the world’s most beloved sport spectacles,” Carla Hassan, then-senior vice president of PepsiCo’s global brand management, said at the time.
But multi-Grammy winner Keys’ performance did not leave an impression on the San Siro crowd. The following year the Black Eyed Peas, flanked by dueling keytarists, ran their hits — including “Let’s Get it Started” off 2003’s “Elephunk” — but did so without Fergie, whose departure from the band was announced the day before.
In 2011, the UCL final between Barcelona and Manchester United was at that time the most watched by Americans in the competition’s history at 2.6 million viewers. The 2022 iteration had 3.2 million, streamed on Paramount+ alone. The total, between English- and Spanish-language broadcasts on television, as well as streaming, resulted in the most-watched final in U.S. history at nearly 5.5 million viewers.
“Over the last couple of years, there’s been a lot of talk about the Champions League final, even a suggestion it could be played in America,” Elliot said. “Nasser Al-Khelaifi, chairman of the European Club Association [and club president of Paris Saint-Germain] has said it should be as big as — if not bigger — than the Super Bowl.”
“These are ideas that my bosses have pushed for years,” Stone said. “We wanted a Premier League, an FA Cup or Champions League game in the United States. For years, the soccer accountants of the world have known what the U.S. can bring to their bottom line. You already saw it with the Copa America coming to the United States. Why are we not taking it to this market that craves what we can deliver?”
Kirkham notes that, while the location is ultimately up to UEFA, that would reap rewards for all involved. “We’ll follow UEFA’s lead and do our part in creating an electric environment for fans, wherever it takes place. If it does end up in the States, all good. This is a global concept.”
UEFA-appointed independent investigators found that European soccer’s governing body bore the “primary responsibility” for the failures of 2022’s final. They also pointed out that UEFA’s blaming of late-arriving fans and fake tickets for causing delays was erroneous. The head of the Paris police force from the game retired less than two months after the final, and in February of this year, with the release of the investigation, the Independent Senate report published recommendations for improvements.
“Probably unprecedented,” Elliot said. “Don’t think it’ll happen again … better not.”
What also gets left behind in the hubbub of 2022 is Real Madrid’s continued dominance, their fifth UCL championship in less than a decade and 14th overall. This year, Manchester City competes for a historic European treble — which would be only the second by an English club — and their first title in club history, while Inter Milan are looking for their first UCL title since 2010.
In Istanbul, ahead of the match, there’s new ground for UEFA, too. Instead of artists already popular in the United States being introduced to the world at large, both two-time BET International Artist of the Year Award winner Burna Boy and Anitta, the 2022 Favorite Female Latin Artist winner at the American Music Awards, will be introduced on a grand scale to Americans.
“This is a big presentation to millions and millions of people worldwide,” Stone said. “In years past, I guarantee you, some of these entertainers would say to their managers, ‘What is this? Where am I going?’ Now people will be fighting to say, ‘Can you get me on [the] pregame?'”
The prematch entertainment has been hit-or-miss so far, but the exposure and audience are, ironically, also unprecedented.
“When Pepsi came on as a UEFA partner eight years ago, our ambition was to bring spectacular choreographed music performances to the biggest game in club football,” Kirkham said. “It’s a huge platform for the artists to unite football and music fans. We [want] to create something exceptional that works for everyone.”
