How long is halftime during the Super Bowl?

‘Forget the actual playing time,’ I hear you shout, ‘we want to know how long the gap is in the middle.’ That’s right, there are people out there who turn up for the musical extravaganza in between the Super Bowl action more than the touchdown-laden, pad-smashing fun that the rest of us are focused on. Well, for those lucky folks, 2024 brings a Halftime Show that is unlikely to disappoint.

You’ll have noted that during the regular season, the halftime break lasts around 15 minutes, but for the campaign-ending finale there is so much more to take care of.

Super Bowl: a 15-minute spectacular

Usher will be the main man at this Sunday’s Halftime Show, although he’ll be ably supported by Alicia Keys and - if the rumors are to be believed - Justin Bieber.

From a tape-delayed performance by New Kids on the Block in Super Bowl XXV (also in Tampa), through Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, US, Jackson-Timberlake, Prince, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and an about-to-announce-her-pregnancy Rihanna, the Halftime Show has not looked back. Here are some of the more recent spectacles that have brought us up to this Sunday.

Halftime Show in 2023: Super Bowl LVII

We hadn’t seen Rihanna perform on stage for over five years before Super Bowl LVII, which saw the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in Phoenix.

The Barbadian songstress received plenty of critical acclaim for her musical comeback, which will live long in the memory for becoming the most public of pregnancy reveals after she rubbed what appeared to be a slight baby bump. The “Umbrella” singer wasted little time in confirming after the show she was indeed expecting her second child.

Halftime Show in 2022: Super Bowl LVI

Generally speaking, we have been treated to one, or maybe two, Halftime Show performers in recent Super Bowls, with a few exceptions. One of those was two years ago at SoFI Stadium in Inglewood, when the LA Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals.

The first Halftime Show ever to be centred entirely around hip hop music, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lemar teamed up for an 11-song set list and were joined for the final number by special guests 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak,

Halftime Show in 2021: Super Bowl LV

In the Superbowl LV edition, one that pitted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Kansas City Chiefs, the headline act was The Weeknd. The show provides around 15 minutes of musical entertainment between the sporting action, and it marked the 30th anniversary of when the event swapped traditional marching bands for contemporary music acts. All in all though, there was over 30 minutes between the first and second half of the contest which allowed for adverts and game analysis.

Halftime Show in 2020: Super Bowl LIV

Taking place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, the halftime show in 2020 was one that could boast the most number of musical stars on stage. The main singers were Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Bad Bunny, J Balvin and Emme Muñiz.

Despite this plethora of entertainment on offer, the television audience in the USA fell just shy of 100 million viewers.

Halftime Show in 2019: Super Bowl LIII

In the year 2019, Super Bowl LIII took place on 3 February at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. While the sports stars of the match were the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots, the singers who were chosen to liven up the break were Maroon 5, Travis Scott, and Big Boi.

All of them entertained an audience of 98 million viewers in the United States and more than 160 million worldwide.

Halftime Show in 2018: Super Bowl LII

The US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was handed the opportunity to host Super Bowl LII in 2018 which was played out between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles, with victory for the latter.

In the halftime show, the main stars were Justin Timberlake, the Tennessee Kids, and the University of Minnesota Marching Band, that had the audience eating out of their musical hands as they played around with some of Timberlake’s numbers.

Halftime show in 2017: Super Bowl LI

The match between the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots, in the 2017 Super Bowl LI, was played at the NRG Stadium in Houston Texas. Lady Gaga, who was one of the truly global singing stars of the moment, was asked to perform.

The artist was on stage for around 14 minutes and belted out some of her most famous songs including ‘Bad Romance’, ‘Telephone’ and ‘Born This Way’, much to the delight of those in attendance.

Usher, along with Keys and perhaps even Bieber, will take centre stage after the second quarter of the 49ers against the Chiefs, with this year’s Halftime Show set to start sometime between 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. ET. The game itself kicks off in Las Vegas at 6:30 p.m. ET.