Alicia Keys to perform at UEFA Champions League final

021 - UEFA and Pepsi announce first live music performance for opening ceremony

For the first time ever, the UEFA Champions League final will feature a global live music headline performance as part of the opening ceremony show. In conjunction with Pepsi, UEFA has announced that the final on 28 May in Milan, Italy, will feature Alicia Keys as part of a revamped opening ceremony ahead of the most important club competition match of the year.

The show will merge the worlds of world-class music, entertainment and sports, as well as celebrate design and fashion as a nod to the host city. Broadcast in more than 220 countries and reaching an estimated global live audience of 180 million viewers the UEFA Champions League final is the most watched annual sporting event in the world.

"I'm extremely excited to share my new music at the UEFA Champions League final, an event that is celebrated in every corner of the world," said Alicia Keys. "This is going to be a powerful moment in history and one that represents the spirit of all the similarities we share no matter where we live and who we are. I'm honoured to be a special part of such a beloved experience."

Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA’s marketing director, commented: “With an iconic and storied history in music, Pepsi was the ideal partner to bring an epic music performance to the world’s most watched annual sporting event for the first time, and UEFA is delighted that Alicia Keys will be performing in Milan. The UEFA Champions League final is the ultimate stage in European club football, bringing together the two best teams on the continent. With such a highly respected and truly global artist performing ahead of the final, it heightens even further the appeal of the match and consequently will reach a broader audience demographic."

Carla Hassan, SVP, Global Brand Management, Global Beverage Group, PepsiCo, added: “By creating a global stage as part of the UEFA Champions League final for the first time, Pepsi 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.”

PepsiCo joined forces with the UEFA Champions League in 2015.