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The full cast of the West End musical Wicked will perform live at Edgbaston ahead of the opening match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, marking the first collaboration between a major West End production and international cricket.
Emma Kingston and Zizi Strallen, who play Elphaba and Glinda respectively in the London production, will lead the company through a performance of songs from the musical in front of a packed crowd and a global broadcast audience before England face Sri Lanka on 12 June.
The performance will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, free-to-air via Sky Mix and through the Sky Sports app in the UK.
A first for global sport
The collaboration is part of the ICC’s strategy to position the Women’s T20 World Cup as a cultural event that extends beyond the cricket itself.
ICC CEO, Sanjog Gupta, outlined the rationale behind the partnership.
“Our core belief is that the ICC’s marquee global events should serve as platforms for content, community, culture and commerce with the athletic spectacle as the core product,” he explained.
“Partnering with the globally celebrated production of Wicked for the opening ceremony reflects our ambition to take the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 beyond its existing position of a sporting event into expanded realms of culture and entertainment. The association with Wicked also helps attract an audience which is increasingly seeking novel, enriching, big-event experiences.”
Gupta added that the ICC wanted to blend sport, music and culture in a way that moves past traditional boundaries around its competitions.
“With this performance, we aim to create an immersive, globally resonant moment that drives deeper interest for the event, targets wider cohorts of fans and fosters an enriched sense of community,” he remarked.
Celebrating 20 years on the West End
The Edgbaston performance coincides with the 20th anniversary of Wicked’s West End run at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, where the show opened on 27 September 2006. In that time, the production has been seen by more than 13 million people in London and has played over 7,500 performances, making it the ninth longest-running West End show in British history.
A spokesperson for Wicked London noted the shared qualities between live theatre and sport.
“For two decades, Wicked has brought audiences together through unforgettable live performance, so to open the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in front of a global sporting audience is incredibly exciting for us,” the statement read.
“There is a real sense of drama, emotion and anticipation shared between theatre and live sport, and this performance is a chance to bring those worlds together in a truly unique way on one of the biggest stages possible.”
Tournament already setting records
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 has already passed 150,000 tickets sold with three weeks remaining before the opening match. The tournament runs from 12 June to 5 July across 33 matches at seven venues throughout England and Wales.
The host grounds include Edgbaston in Birmingham, Old Trafford in Manchester, Headingley in Leeds, Hampshire Bowl in Southampton, Bristol County Ground, The Oval in London and Lord’s in London. Twelve teams will compete for the trophy currently held by New Zealand.
Tournament Director, Beth Barrett-Wild, described the partnership as an unexpected but fitting way to open proceedings.
“You wouldn’t normally expect to see world-class cricket sharing the same stage as a hit West End musical, but that is exactly what makes this such an unmissable way to open the tournament,” she commented.
“Bringing the magic of Wicked and its hugely talented cast to Edgbaston will set the tone for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, opening 24 days of competition showcasing the very best in global cricket.”
Tickets for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 are available via tickets.womens.t20worldcup.com.
About the musical
Wicked is based on Gregory Maguire’s novel and tells the backstory of the characters from L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, following the journeys of Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West from their time as university friends. The stage musical was written by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman.
The two-part film adaptation, which opened in November 2024 and November 2025 respectively, has generated more than $1.3 billion in combined box office revenue globally.
