38 days. 104 video games. Hours upon hours of soccer. It’s been fairly the month and a bit…

Ultimately, Spain received the 2026 FIFA World Cup, overcoming Argentina in a 1-0 additional time win on the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on 19 July.

This 12 months’s version of the event noticed a lot of modifications to the format, together with an growth to 48 groups (up from 32, although FIFA is reportedly planning to increase it once more to 64 groups in 2030).

It additionally noticed the first-ever World Cup Last halftime present, with performances from Madonna, Shakira, Burna Boy and Justin Bieber.

For his section, after a short introduction by actor Jason Sudeikis, Justin Bieber took to the sphere to carry out an angelic rendition of his 2025 observe, All the things Hallelujah. Naturally, as a bunch of guitar nerds, our eyes went straight to the attractive Taylor Gold Label 517e he had in his arms.

Eagle-eyed viewers may have seen that Justin Bieber is a leftie, and the Gold Label 517e is often solely out there in a right-handed configuration.

Because it seems, the guitar he performed throughout halftime is one in all a small number of left-handed Gold Labels made by Taylor for a handful of distinguished left-handed artists, together with Justin Bieber and Elliott Easton of the Vehicles.

Bieber’s World Cup 517e, particularly, contains a Taylor’s in-house-designed Claria pickup system, rather than the LR Baggs Aspect electronics.

Clearly, an artist of Justin Bieber’s stature may have his decide when it comes to the devices he chooses to take to the stage, however finally, for the World Cup Last halftime present, he narrowed it down to 2 Gold Label choices, a customized 717e and a 517e, rehearsing with each.

“Lots of coordination went into this,” Jay Parkin, Director of Artist Relations & Partnerships at Taylor, tells Guitar.com.

“When Justin was booked for the World Cup Last, his guitar tech reached out by [backline company] Studio Instrument Leases. It’s a fantastic instance of the relationships we’ve constructed with backline companions like SIR, CenterStaging and John Henry’s.”

Parkin explains how he retains a “small stock” of Justin Bieber’s guitars at CenterStaging, a big rehearsal and backline facility in Burbank, California.

“His tech requested two left-handed Gold Labels, and I coordinated the logistics, transport a Gold Label 517 with our Claria pickup system and a customized 717 to SIR for rehearsals. After attempting each guitars, Justin and his tech selected the usual Gold Label 517 for the halftime present.”

The World Cup Last halftime present additionally noticed performances from Madonna – who was accompanied by Brazilian soccer legends Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, and Shakira and Burna Boy, who carried out their 2026 smash hit, Dai Dai.