Who's performing at the Super Bowl LV halftime show? A guide to all the night's entertainment

Sports fans are gearing up for one of the year's biggest nights, with the Kansas City Chiefs set to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Super Bowl LV.

However, if you're not tuning in for the touchdowns, it's likely that you'll be there for the evening's entertainment.

Here is a guide to all of the performers set to take the stage at Super Bowl 55.

When is 2021 Super Bowl taking place?

This year, the Super Bowl is taking place on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, Florida. Kick-off is at 6.30pm ET, which is 3.30am GST on Monday in the UAE.

Who is performing the US national anthem?

Ahead of the American football game, R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan and country singer Eric Church will duet the US national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner.

Grammy Award-winning Slide singer HER will perform America the Beautiful before Sullivan and Church take to the stage.

In an inclusive move, deaf rapper Warren Snipe, known as Wawa, will perform both of the songs in American Sign Language.

Will there be any other music before the game?

Yes, Miley Cyrus will headline the first TikTok Tailgate show. The pre-game event has been designed for the 7,500 vaccinated healthcare workers who will be attending the game. It will be live-streamed in its entirety on TikTok, with portions televised as part of the pre-match coverage on CBS.

Is Amanda Gorman taking to the stage?

Amanda Gorman will recite a new original poem at Super Bowl LV. EPA

America's National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, who made headlines with her recital of original poem The Hill We Climb at US President Joe Biden's inauguration, will also perform.

Gorman, 22, will recite a new original poem as part of the lively pre-game coverage. Her work will recognise three honorary game captains who have been chosen by the NFL: Los Angeles teacher Trimaine Davis, Florida nurse Suzie Dorner and Marine veteran James Martin.

Will The Weeknd have any special guests?

The Weeknd will perform the Super Bowl half-time show, but will he have any special guests? Drake is a current favourite. Courtesy Sife El Amine

It is no secret that Canadian rapper The Weeknd is headlining the half-time show.

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The Blinding Lights rapper has said his performance will be 24 minutes long, however, that has been refuted by his representatives who say it will last 12 to 13 minutes.

The Weeknd told Billboard magazine he has put in $7 million of his own money to "make this half-time show what he envisioned".

“We’ve been really focusing on dialling in on the fans at home and making performances a cinematic experience, and we want to do that with the Super Bowl," he added.

Super Bowl half-time performers have a history of bringing out guests – Coldplay brought out Beyonce, Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson in 2016; Katy Perry was joined by Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott in 2015; and Madonna brought out LMFAO, Cirque du Soleil performers and Nicki Minaj in 2012.

The Weeknd has not confirmed who he'll be bringing out on stage with him, if anyone, but that has not stopped speculation. Doja Cat, Drake and Ariana Grande are among the favourite suggestions for guest stars.

Who has headlined the half-time show in the past?

US singer Jennifer Lopez and Colombian singer Shakira perform during the halftime at Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on February 2, 2020. EPA

Here are all of the Super Bowl half-time show headliners since 2000, including Beyonce, U2, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones and Nelly:

2020: Jennifer Lopez and Shakira

2019: Maroon 5 with Travis Scott, Big Boi

2018: Justin Timberlake

2017: Lady Gaga

2016: Coldplay with Beyonce, Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson

2015: Katy Perry with Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott

2014: Bruno Mars with Red Hot Chili Peppers

2013: Beyonce with Destiny's Chid

2012: Madonna with LMFAO, Cirque du Soleil performers, Nicki Minaj, Cee Lo Green

2011: The Black Eyed Peas with Usher, Slash

2010: The Who

2009: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

2008: Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

2007: Prince

2006: The Rolling Stones

2005: Paul McCartney

2004: Jessica Simpson, Janet Jackson, P Diddy, Nelly, Kid Rock and Justin Timberlake

2003: Shania Twain, No Doubt and Sting

2002: U2

2001: Aerosmith, NSync, Britney Spears, Mary J Blige, Nelly

2000: Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, Toni Braxton

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Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani

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if you go

The flights
The closest international airport to the TMB trail is Geneva (just over an hour’s drive from the French ski town of Chamonix where most people start and end the walk). Direct flights from the UAE to Geneva are available with Etihad and Emirates from about Dh2,790 including taxes.

The trek
The Tour du Mont Blanc takes about 10 to 14 days to complete if walked in its entirety, but by using the services of a tour operator such as Raw Travel, a shorter “highlights” version allows you to complete the best of the route in a week, from Dh6,750 per person. The trails are blocked by snow from about late October to early May. Most people walk in July and August, but be warned that trails are often uncomfortably busy at this time and it can be very hot. The prime months are June and September.

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.