NEW YORK -- Latin GRAMMY Award-winning global artist Luis Fonsi will be featured during the opening of the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic®, the historic outdoor game featuring the two-time defending Stanley Cup® champion Florida Panthers hosting the New York Rangers at loanDepot park in Miami on Jan. 2, 2026, with a live musical performance, the National Hockey League (NHL) announced today. The event will be televised live on TNT and HBO Max in the U.S., and on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada, at 8 p.m. ET.
Fonsi will perform his global Spanish-language hit, “Despacito” during each team’s ceremonious walk onto the field at loanDepot park. The music video for the massive hit song ranks among the most watched YouTube videos of all time.
Fonsi joins a musical lineup for the historic outdoor game that includes singer-songwriter Role Model, who will lead the first intermission presented by Ticketmaster with a performance.
A limited number of tickets to the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic are still available, on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last. Fans can purchase tickets here via Ticketmaster, the official ticketing partner of the NHL. Ticketmaster is the only official marketplace of the NHL, providing fans with the peace of mind in knowing the seats they buy on Ticketmaster.com and the Ticketmaster app are the seats they’ll get. All of the 16 previous NHL Winter Classics have been sellouts.
The 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic continues the tradition the National Hockey League (NHL) established in 2008 of hosting a regular-season outdoor game at the onset of the new year, with the 2026 edition marking the 18-year anniversary of the first NHL Winter Classic.
This year’s NHL Winter Classic will be a historic first -- the inaugural NHL outdoor game played in the State of Florida -- and the kickoff of an outdoor hockey celebration in the Sunshine State, which will also include the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series™ less than a month later, February 1 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, when the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Boston Bruins.
About Luis Fonsi
Luis Fonsi is an award-winning global artist from Puerto Rico and one of the most influential figures in Latin music, with a celebrated career spanning more than 25 years. Since his debut album Comenzaré (1998) through his latest studio release El Viaje (2024), Fonsi has consistently topped charts, broken sales records, and delivered some of the most iconic hits in contemporary Latin music.
With multiple gold, platinum, and diamond certifications, Fonsi has earned numerous prestigious awards, including six GRAMMY® nominations, six Latin GRAMMYs®, 12 Latin Billboard Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, and more. In addition to career-spanning accolades, he also holds seven Guinness World Records, highlighted by the historic impact of “Despacito,” which was recently named by Billboard as the most influential Latin song of the 21st century.
In between international concerts, and promotional trips, Fonsi released his highly anticipated 11th studio album EL VIAJE which includes “Santiago,” “La Romana,” “Marbella,” “Roma” with Laura Pausini, and “Santa Marta” with Carlos Vives. The album has been one of the most outstanding albums of Fonsi's career, widely recognized and nominated for multiple awards including a Latin GRAMMY in 2024 in the category “Best Latin Pop Vocal Album” and a GRAMMY nomination in 2025 for “Best Latin Pop Album.”
