Shakira and Jennifer Lopez have promised to deliver a celebration of “diversity” at the Super Bowl halftime show.
The pop stars will take to the stage at Florida’s Hard Rock Stadium this evening, as the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs vie to be crowned NFL champions.
They will become the first Latina women to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show since Gloria Estefan, who sang at the showpiece event in 1992 and 1999.
Here is everything you need to know about tonight’s performance.
What time is the Super Bowl halftime show?
The match between the 49ers and Chiefs will kick off at 11:30pm UK time.
The halftime show is due to begin after the second quarter, which should be around 1am.
1/10 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – 2008
No frills, just good old-fashioned rock and roll. Tom Petty’s performance is often omitted from rankings of the best Super Bowl halftime shows, but we’re including it here because he absolutely crushed it. Kicking things off with “American Girl”, he followed it up with “Won’t Back Down”, “Full Moon Fever” and the emotional “Free Fallin’”, rounding off with a stirring rendition of “Runnin’ Down a Dream”.
AFP/Getty Images
2/10 U2 – 2002
U2 had the unenviable task of trying to raise everyone’s spirits just six months after the 9/11 attacks, but they did an admirable job, with performances of uplifting tracks like “Beautiful Day”.
AFP/Getty Images
3/10 Paul McCartney – 2005
McCartney preceded the pop stars trying to outdo one another with extravagant stage designs and lavish costumes. Instead, he offered four beautifully played songs, of which the final one, “Hey Jude”, prompted an epic singalong with the crowd at Jacksonville’s EverBank Field Stadium.
AFP/Getty Images
4/10 Madonna – 2012
One of the few to outdo Katy Perry’s 2015 entrance was Madonna, three years earlier, who appeared on a giant golden chariot led by about a hundred buff men dressed as Roman soldiers. She brought out Nicki Minaj and MIA for “Give Me All Your Luvin’” and also performed hits “Like a Prayer”, “Music” and “Express Yourself”.
AFP/Getty Images
5/10 Katy Perry – 2015
There are few entrances as grand as standing on top of a giant golden lion with glowing eyes. Katy Perry went all out for her halftime show in 2015 with performances of “Roar”, “Dark Horse”, “California Gurls”, “Firework” and “Teenage Dream”. And who can forget the notorious Left Shark and his poor coordination?
Getty Images
6/10 Bruce Springsteen – 2009
“Put the chicken fingers down and turn your television all the way up,” the Boss ordered. Springsteen’s 12-minute set started out with “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” and also included “Born to Run”, “Glory Days” and “Working on a Dream”.
Getty Images
7/10 Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake – 2004
Janet Jackson delivered a blistering, brilliantly choreographed show that ended with “Rock Your Body”. But the moment Justin Timberlake ripped away her costume, and exposed her breast for approximately half a second, overshadowed all of that. The incident, dubbed “nipplegate”, even inspired the creation of YouTube. Jackson was turned into a scapegoat for the ensuing controversy, while Timberlake didn’t receive anywhere near as much scrutiny.
AFP/Getty Images
8/10 Lady Gaga – 2017
One of the most outlandish halftime shows in recent memory, Lady Gaga began her performance by hurtling herself from the top of the stadium (attached to a harness, of course) – sparking a thousand memes. Once safely on the ground, she thrilled audiences with her biggest hits: “Poker Face”, “Born This Way”, “Telephone”, “Just Dance”, “Million Reasons” and “Bad Romance”.
Getty Images
9/10 Beyonce – 2013
Beyonce basically ties with Prince for the greatest all-time Super Bowl performance. It was bold, it was fierce, it was virtually flawless. Bursting onto the stage with “Crazy in Love” after an a capella “Love on Top”, she threw down some of her best dance moves, before moving on to other hits including “End of Time” and “Baby Boy”. Lastly, there was a hysteria-inducing Destiny’s Child reunion with Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland – a performance so powerful, the lights at the stadium cut out when it ended.
Getty
10/10 Prince – 2007
The greatest. Of course, the Purple One wasn’t responsible for the rain that began to pour during his hair-raising 12-minute performance, which included covers of “We Will Rock You” and “All Along the Watchtower”. But the timing was so perfect, you wanted to believe he was. Following renditions of “1999/Baby I’m a Star”, Prince closed on “Purple Rain” in what has to be ranked among one of his greatest live performances of that song.
Getty Images
1/10 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – 2008
No frills, just good old-fashioned rock and roll. Tom Petty’s performance is often omitted from rankings of the best Super Bowl halftime shows, but we’re including it here because he absolutely crushed it. Kicking things off with “American Girl”, he followed it up with “Won’t Back Down”, “Full Moon Fever” and the emotional “Free Fallin’”, rounding off with a stirring rendition of “Runnin’ Down a Dream”.
AFP/Getty Images
2/10 U2 – 2002
U2 had the unenviable task of trying to raise everyone’s spirits just six months after the 9/11 attacks, but they did an admirable job, with performances of uplifting tracks like “Beautiful Day”.
AFP/Getty Images
3/10 Paul McCartney – 2005
McCartney preceded the pop stars trying to outdo one another with extravagant stage designs and lavish costumes. Instead, he offered four beautifully played songs, of which the final one, “Hey Jude”, prompted an epic singalong with the crowd at Jacksonville’s EverBank Field Stadium.
AFP/Getty Images
4/10 Madonna – 2012
One of the few to outdo Katy Perry’s 2015 entrance was Madonna, three years earlier, who appeared on a giant golden chariot led by about a hundred buff men dressed as Roman soldiers. She brought out Nicki Minaj and MIA for “Give Me All Your Luvin’” and also performed hits “Like a Prayer”, “Music” and “Express Yourself”.
AFP/Getty Images
5/10 Katy Perry – 2015
There are few entrances as grand as standing on top of a giant golden lion with glowing eyes. Katy Perry went all out for her halftime show in 2015 with performances of “Roar”, “Dark Horse”, “California Gurls”, “Firework” and “Teenage Dream”. And who can forget the notorious Left Shark and his poor coordination?
Getty Images
6/10 Bruce Springsteen – 2009
“Put the chicken fingers down and turn your television all the way up,” the Boss ordered. Springsteen’s 12-minute set started out with “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” and also included “Born to Run”, “Glory Days” and “Working on a Dream”.
Getty Images
7/10 Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake – 2004
Janet Jackson delivered a blistering, brilliantly choreographed show that ended with “Rock Your Body”. But the moment Justin Timberlake ripped away her costume, and exposed her breast for approximately half a second, overshadowed all of that. The incident, dubbed “nipplegate”, even inspired the creation of YouTube. Jackson was turned into a scapegoat for the ensuing controversy, while Timberlake didn’t receive anywhere near as much scrutiny.
AFP/Getty Images
8/10 Lady Gaga – 2017
One of the most outlandish halftime shows in recent memory, Lady Gaga began her performance by hurtling herself from the top of the stadium (attached to a harness, of course) – sparking a thousand memes. Once safely on the ground, she thrilled audiences with her biggest hits: “Poker Face”, “Born This Way”, “Telephone”, “Just Dance”, “Million Reasons” and “Bad Romance”.
Getty Images
9/10 Beyonce – 2013
Beyonce basically ties with Prince for the greatest all-time Super Bowl performance. It was bold, it was fierce, it was virtually flawless. Bursting onto the stage with “Crazy in Love” after an a capella “Love on Top”, she threw down some of her best dance moves, before moving on to other hits including “End of Time” and “Baby Boy”. Lastly, there was a hysteria-inducing Destiny’s Child reunion with Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland – a performance so powerful, the lights at the stadium cut out when it ended.
Getty
10/10 Prince – 2007
The greatest. Of course, the Purple One wasn’t responsible for the rain that began to pour during his hair-raising 12-minute performance, which included covers of “We Will Rock You” and “All Along the Watchtower”. But the timing was so perfect, you wanted to believe he was. Following renditions of “1999/Baby I’m a Star”, Prince closed on “Purple Rain” in what has to be ranked among one of his greatest live performances of that song.
Getty Images
How can I watch the halftime show online and on TV?
The 54th Super Bowl will be broadcast live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 11:25pm.
You can also watch the game live on Sky Sports Action, Mix and Main Event from 10:00pm.
What can we expect from the performance?
The 13-minute show, which has been in production for almost a year, will feature a string of surprise artists and an on-field “audience” of around 800 people.
Dan Parise, a producer working with entertainment company Roc Nation, told Reuters: “There are so many aspects of it, the dancers, the lighting elements, the special effects. It’s like a big jigsaw puzzle.”
According to unconfirmed reports, the special guests will include Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, Colombian performer J Balvin and Lopez’s 11-year-old daughter Emme.
The pop stars are also expected to pay tribute to Kobe Bryant, the NBA legend killed in a helicopter crash in California last week.
Shakira, who turns 43 today, said: “I think we will all be remembering Kobe on Sunday. We’ll be celebrating life, and celebrating diversity in this country.”
She described the performance as a “palpable example of how anything is possible” and she and Lopez are “redefining paradigms about age, about race, about background.”
“It doesn’t really matter where you’re from, how old you are or where you come from, what matters is the message and what you have to say. We have a lot to say,” she added.
Which songs will be included on the setlist?
Lopez, whose hits include “Jenny from the Block”, “Get Right” and “On the Floor”, has remained tight-lipped about which songs she and Shakira will perform.
She told the Associated Press: “Someone was like, ‘Oh, is it the greatest hits?’ I was like, ‘all?’.
“It’s an enjoyable fun set and there was no way to fit in everything people were asking for.
“But that’s a blessing and at the end of the day, I think what I put together with my team is something that is a lot of fun, a lot of energy [and] super-exciting.”