The 57th Super Bowl will kick off on Sunday – here’s all you need to know to watch the biggest game of the NFL season.
Often filled with drama, performance, politics and showbiz – the culmination of the NFL (National Football League) season is back for another year this weekend.
With millions around the world set to tune in – here is everything you need to know about Super Bowl LVII.
So sit back, relax, grab your match-day snacks and prepare for a classic.
When is it and how can I watch?
Super Bowl LVII will be played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, but you can cosy up in the comfort of your own home because it’s set to air on Sky Sports NFL (407) and Sky Sports Main Event (401) on Sunday, 12 February.
Coverage starts at 10pm (UK time), with kick-off in the big game at 11.30pm.
If you’re up late and on the move, you can also watch the show with Sky Go – online or on NOW TV, with the Sky Sports Day Pass.
Who’s playing?
A storm is brewing, with The Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs set to go head-to-head.
History in the making
This is what Sky News’s Alan McGuinness has to say about this year:
This year’s contest will see history made.
It’s the first time two black quarterbacks have faced off for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Patrick Mahomes has been here before.
The Chiefs QB will be playing in his third Super Bowl since becoming the team’s starter in 2018.
He led the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl in 50 years in 2020, but was on the losing side the following year.
The mercurial Mahomes is a dynamic playmaker who can burn defences through the air or on the ground.
With him under centre, the Chiefs are perennial Super Bowl contenders – this is their third appearance in four years. But Mahomes could be hampered by an ankle injury he sustained earlier in the playoffs.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts is playing in his first Super Bowl in what is his second full season as the team’s starter.
The Eagles will be competing in the franchise’s fourth Super Bowl, with the team’s sole victory coming in 2018.
Both teams entered the playoffs as the number one seeds in their respective conferences, having both notched up 14-3 records in the regular season.
It means we should be in for an exciting game come Sunday.
Who will sing the national anthem?
The American football show is known for its showbiz magic and touch of patriotic symbolism.
The national anthem often marks the opening of the grand event and has been a tradition year after year.
This year, country singer, songwriter and guitarist Chris Stapleton will be taking the lead.
Stapleton has previously reached the top of the country charts and has won eight Grammy Awards, among many others.
Up next it’s the half-time show. Who’s performing?
This year it’s Rihanna who takes centre stage.
The Super Bowl is known for its exciting performances at half-time with the momentous event often a pinnacle in many artists’ careers.
Apple Music said: “It’s ON. Rihanna will take the stage for the first-ever Apple Music Super Bowl Half-time Show on 2.12.23.”
The Barbadian singer is known for her pop and R&B flow and is a worldwide sensation in the music scene. She is also known for the launch of her beauty and fashion lines, Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty.
Who’s played the iconic half-time show before?
The Super Bowl stage does not fall short of great performances over the years, from the Rolling Stones in 2006, to Madonna in 2012.
Here are some previous show-stopping moments that had crowds roaring.
Madonna in 2012
Beyonce, Coldplay and Bruno Mars in 2016
The Rolling Stones in 2006
Jennifer Lopez and Shakira in 2020
What about the ads?
Roughly 100 million people tune in to watch the Super Bowl each year – which makes it advertising’s biggest stage.
Big companies from Netflix to Google are paying as much as $7m for a 30-second spot.
In order to get as much as a return on investment for those millions, most advertisers release their ads in the days ahead of the big game to get the most publicity for their spots.
But what are ads without celebrity?
The Super Bowl makes headlines for the glitz and the glam as well as just the sport.
In the ads released so far, actor Miles Teller dances to customer-service hold music for Bud Light, Will Ferrell crashes popular Netflix shows like Bridgerton in a joint ad for GM and Netflix; and Alicia Silverstone reprises her Clueless character for online shopping site Rakuten.
Here’s who else we’ll see.
Melissa McCarthy stars in a musical number for Booking.com about her desire to go on a trip “somewhere, anywhere”.
Nick Jonas returns for the second year in an ad that highlight’s Dexcom’s glucose monitoring system.
Hellmann’s shows actors Jon Hamm and Brie Larson in a fridge with a jar of mayo. Get it?
Beer brand Michelob Ultra’s two ads are set at Bushwood Country Club, the fictional country club in Caddyshack, and star tennis great Serena Williams, actor Brian Cox, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, soccer player Alex Morgan and boxer Canelo Alvarez.
The Frito-Lay brand PopCorners recreates Breaking Bad with Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul – but this time the duo are cooking up the PopCorners snack in their RV instead of anything illicit.
Uber’s ad for its membership program Uber One shows hip hop mogul P Diddy working to create a hit song for Uber One. The ad features Montell Jordan (“This is How We Do It”), Kelis (“Milkshake”), Donna Lewis (“I Love You Always Forever”), Haddaway (“What is Love”) and Ylvis (“What Does the Fox Say”).
In the first Super Bowl ad from enterprise software company Workday, rock stars Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, Joan Jett and others complain that office workers shouldn’t call each other rock stars.
And finally, who holds the most Super Bowl titles?
Coming out on top, The Patriots and Steelers are familiar with playing on the big stage. Here are the top wins from 1967 to 2022 according to Statista:
Pittsburgh Steelers: 6
New England Patriots: 6
San Francisco 49ers: 5
Dallas Cowboys: 5
New York Giants: 4
Green Bay Packers: 4
And that’s all you need to know for the big game – enjoy the match!
Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.
He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.
“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”
“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.
Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.
Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.
In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.
He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”
“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”
Paris Hilton says her “heart has shattered into a million pieces,” after visiting the charred remains of her Malibu beach house which has been destroyed in wildfires sweeping LA.
Describing herself on Instagram as “in complete shock,” the hotel heiress said seeing her family memories “reduced to ashes” was “devastating”.
Meanwhile, Mel Gibson has said the loss of his family home and all his belongings in the fire was “emotional”. It burned down while he was recording the Joe Rogan Experience in Texas.
At least 10 people have been killed in the blazes, which have been burning for four days, forcing 179,000 to evacuate their homes. Tens of thousands of acres of land still burning.
The fires affected multiple celebrities, as the fires have ripped through exclusive suburbs in southern California, home to film stars and billionaires.
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Celebrities’ homes have burned down in the LA fires
Hilton, 43, said she watched her home burn to the ground on TV – and shared a video on social media from inside her gutted home.
She said she was grateful to be safe along with her husband Carter Reum and their two children, Phoenix and London, but was devastated to have lost her family home.
She wrote on Instagram: “I’m standing here in what used to be our home, and the heartbreak is truly indescribable.
“When I first saw the news, I was in complete shock – I couldn’t process it. But now, standing here and seeing it with my own eyes, it feels like my heart has shattered into a million pieces.”
She has lived in the multi-million-pound property for three years.
Hilton added: “This house wasn’t just a place to live – it was where we dreamed, laughed, and created the most beautiful memories as a family.
“It was where [son] Phoenix’s little hands made art that I’ll cherish forever, where love and life filled every corner. To see it reduced to ashes… it’s devastating beyond words.
“What breaks my heart even more is knowing that this isn’t just my story. So many people have lost everything. It’s not just walls and roofs – it’s the memories that made those houses homes. It’s the photos, the keepsakes, the irreplaceable pieces of our lives.”
She described herself as “incredibly lucky,” adding: “My loved ones, my babies, and my pets are safe. That’s the most important thing”.
She thanked the firefighters, first responders and volunteers who she said were “all risking their lives” to help, adding “Even in the ashes, there is still beauty in this world”.
‘When I got home, it wasn’t there’
Braveheart star Mel Gibson, who was away when the fires began, told NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas Reports that the home he had lived in for over a decade had burned while he was appearing on an episode of the Joe Rogan podcast.
The 69-year-old actor said it was “emotional” to know all his belongings have been lost, but he was doing his best to stay positive.
He said he felt “relieved from the burden of my stuff, because it’s all in cinders”.
Gibson, who lived in his Hollywood home with his partner Rosalind Ross and their seven-year-old son Lars, described finding out about the loss of his house.
“I was doing the Rogan podcast… And [I was] kind of ill at ease while we were talking, because I knew my neighbourhood was on fire, so I thought, I wonder if my place is still there.
“But when I got home, sure enough, it wasn’t there. I went home and I said to myself, well, at least I haven’t got any of those pesky plumbing problems anymore.”
He said the family’s pet chickens had survived the blaze, and while many “personal things from over the years” had been lost, the important things were still there.
“These are only things. And the good news is that those in my family and those I love are all well, and we’re all happy and healthy and out of harm’s way, that’s all I can care about, really.”
The ancestral home of Big Lebowski actor Jeff Bridges is also understood to have been destroyed.
The four-bedroom home, which had been in the Bridges family for generations, had been inherited by Bridges and his two siblings in 2018 according to the Los Angeles Times.
Tina Knowles, the mother of singer Beyonce, has also lost a house she owned in Malibu to the fires.
She shared a short video of dolphins playing in the sea on Instagram, writing: “This is what I was looking at on my birthday this past weekend from my tiny little bungalow on the water in Malibu! It was my favorite place, my sanctuary, my sacred Happy Place. Now it is gone!!”
She went on to thank the fire department and first responders and offered condolences to others affected by the fires.
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Take That star Mark Owen and his family were evacuated from their home, with his wife Emma Ferguson describing them waking to “helicopters, thick black smoke and winds howling”.
She said while she was grateful her family was safe, it was “exhausting” to be “constantly looking online to see if your house is gone.”
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Steve Guttenberg: ‘I’ve seen such tragedy’
Actor Steve Guttenberg, best known for his role in the Police Academy film franchise, has called the fires “absolutely the worst” he’s ever seen, and has been doing what he can to help distressed residents.
Other stars to have lost their homes in the fires include Billy Crystal, Miles Teller, Diane Waren, Ricki Lake, Cary Elwes, Milo Ventimiglia, Anna Faris, Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag.
On Friday, the Recording Academy, which runs the Grammy Awards, and charity MusiCares have pledged $1m (£813,000) to support music artists impacted by the fires.
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis has pledged the same amount to fire relief efforts from her family foundation.
Alec Baldwin has filed a lawsuit against prosecutors who pursued a criminal charge against him after the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust.
The Hollywood actor, who was the lead actor and co-producer of the Western film, was pointing a gun at Ms Hutchins when it fired in October 2021.
The cinematographer was killed and director Joel Souza was wounded.
Baldwin, 66, was accused of involuntary manslaughter but his trial was upended in July when a judge threw the case out based on the misconduct of police and prosecutors over the withholding of ammunition evidence from the defence.
He has now filed a lawsuit for malicious prosecution and civil rights violations against those involved in pursuing the charge.
The lawsuit alleges that prosecutors intentionally concealed evidence that would absolve Baldwin from blame and “sought at every turn to scapegoat” him to “maliciously bring about or advance” the actor’s trial and conviction.
It claims the defendants, which include special prosecutor Kari Morrissey and Santa Fe district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, were “blinded by their desire to convict Baldwin for all the wrong reasons”.
In a statement, Ms Morrissey said: “In October 2023 the prosecution team became aware that Mr Baldwin intended to file a retaliatory civil lawsuit.
“We look forward to our day in court.”
Representatives for Ms Carmack-Altwies have been contacted for comment.
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From July 2024: Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey accused of calling Baldwin a ‘c*********’
Baldwin’s lawsuit has been filed less than a month after Ms Morrissey withdrew an appeal over the court’s decision to dismiss the involuntary manslaughter charge against the actor.
After the lawsuit was filed, Baldwin’s lawyers Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said in a joint statement: “Criminal prosecutions are supposed to be about the search for truth and justice, not to pursue personal or political gain or harass the innocent.
“Kari Morrissey and the other defendants violated that basic principle, over and over, and trampled on Alec Baldwin’s rights.
“We bring this action to hold the defendants accountable for their misconduct and to prevent them from doing this to anyone else.”
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From November 2024: Tributes paid to Halyna Hutchins at Rust premiere
Baldwin had always denied the charge of involuntary manslaughter, maintaining he did not pull the gun’s trigger and that others on the set in New Mexico were responsible for safety checks on the weapon.
If he had been convicted, he could have faced up to 18 months in prison.
According to the prosecution, the actor had behaved recklessly during a scene rehearsal on the set near Santa Fe, playing “make believe with a real gun” and violating “the cardinal rules of firearm safety”.
Baldwin’s defence team argued this was not true – saying he was “an actor, acting” and “committed no crime”.
Following repeated suggestions from defence lawyer Alex Spiro that evidence had been concealed, in an unusual move, Ms Morrissey called herself to the witness stand during the trial, despite the judge telling her she was not required to do so.
Mr Spiro told the court that she had referred to the actor as a “c*********” and an “arrogant p****” to witnesses. Ms Morrissey said she did not recall this.