Super Bowl Organisers Kept Secret Guest Hidden From Public During Rehearsal

Super Bowl organisers managed to keep a guest hidden from the public during rehearsals for the half-time show.

The 2026 Super Bowl takes place between Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots at Levi's Stadium, California on February 8.

It sees the top team from the 2025/26 NFC Conference take on the second-placed team in the AFC Conference.

The half-time show will be hosted by multi-award winning rapper Bad Bunny, who won Album of the Year at the 2026 Grammy Awards last week.

The NFL's selection of the Puerto Rican singer received criticism from members of US President Donald Trump's administration, given that Bad Bunny - real name Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio - has repeatedly criticised the Trump administration over its aggressive immigration policies.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested that American country music singer Lee Greenwood, who is a Republican Party member, performs regularly at Republican conventions and is said to be Trump's favourite singer, should have been given the opportunity instead.

Johnson went on to claim, without evidence, that Greenwood was a 'better role model' for young audiences.

Last year, the Super Bowl's half-time show was headlined by US rapper Kendrick Lamar, featuring SZA and actor Samuel L. Jackson.

There was also a surprise cameo from tennis legend Serena Williams, who won 23 Grand Slam titles during her career.

Williams walked on stage during Lamar's performance and performed a crip walk, a dance move that originated in Los Angeles and was said to have been a reference to both Williams and Lamar's roots in the US city.

Camera operator and producer Dan Balton told The Athletic earlier this week that he was told that he would have a shot of a special guest 'dancing' during the performance, but was not given the identity of the guest.

He added that Williams only rehearsed her segment of the performance once - the day before the half-time show.

"Serena Williams was a surprise cameo, and we only rehearsed with her once," Balton explained.

"They were so hyper-specific about how tight they wanted the shot. It was a moving shot, so we had to reposition our base to get to that spot of where she was dancing.

"It felt pretty tense, I knew there were certainly a lot of eyes on it.

"Then the next day all of a sudden, everyone I knew was sending me gifs and memes of Serena Williams dancing."