Beyonce, Jay-Z to show WC final before Paris gig

Who runs the world? Footballers. And not even Beyonce and Jay-Z can compete.

Apparently concerned that the World Cup final will steal the show in Paris on Sunday, where they are due to perform a concert, the first couple of pop have offered to show the game between France and its as-yet-unknown rival ahead of their gig.

"Twenty years after the French team won its first world title, Beyonce and Jay-Z invite people with tickets for their concert to come to the Stade de France at 16h00 in order to take advantage of the stadium's screens, as well as those of the production team, to carry Les Bleus towards their final victory," the organisers of the Paris leg of the couple's On The Run II world tour announced.

The show at the national stadium, which starts at 7.30 pm, is the second Paris date in the tour.

While Saturday's concert is sold out, tickets are still available for Sunday, when France is gunning for its second World Cup title, 20 years after winning the tournament with a 3-0 victory over Brazil at the Stade de France.

Beyonce and Jay-Z are not the only ones to bow to the superior star power of the beautiful game.

Justin Timberlake made arrangements to screen the second semi-final, between England and Croatia, before his show at the 02 arena in London on Wednesday night.

"I heard there's a big game on tomorrow before our show," Timberlake wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. "So I had a little chat with @TheO2."

On Tuesday, tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Paris to celebrate the team's semi-final win over Belgium in scenes that are expected to be replicated on a much bigger scale in the event of a final victory Sunday.