SUPER BOWL 2023

On February 13, the world saw one of the most iconic Super Bowl halftime performances at  the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, which also marked Rihanna's return to the music scene (it's Rihanna's first since the Grammys of 2018) . Spectacular performance thanks also to the scenography designed by set designer Bruce Rodgers. The pop star performed on seven platforms suspended from 4.5 to 18 meters above the field and, as the LED-lit platforms arranged in different positions moved, the singer retraced her musical repertoire, which boasts hits ranging from Bitch Better Have My Money to Rude Boy. In addition to creating some breathtaking visuals, the suspended platforms also served a very practical purpose: they kept Rihanna off the grass. Grass is a staple in the NFL. This season, many players have asked the league to change all fields to grass, to prevent possible injuries. In fact, the hardness of the ground and the softness of the turf are important factors in how players' studs interact with the grid and what happens when they are tackled onto it. Preserving that field, says NFL director of game operations Phil Bogle, is the league's primary goal when it comes to halftime entertainment, so that when the athletes go out they can do their thing without worrying about field conditions. At State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, the turf consists of 100,000 square feet of Tifway 419 Hybrid Bermuda grass on a tray that is rolled out in the sun during the week and rolled under the stadium dome for game days , which also serves to give it light. 

Furthermore, thanks to the Clegg Impact Tester, a tool that checks its density to make sure it is the safest possible surface for football, the NFL determined that the value must be less than 100 Gmax, which is why the scenography had to be as delicate as possible. Reason why Rodgers, together with Rihanna's creative team, designer Willo Perron, choreographer Parris Goebel and production manager Joseph Lloyd, in September, devised a solution not to alter the density of the surface of the field, namely that of make Rihanna perform suspended in the air. 

As reported by Wired, to make it possible, platforms were designed, each three meters large by five, which at the base have 512 lights which are then turned on following the pop star's performance. The platforms had to be lifted individually from the trusses during the first half of the match and then brought down to pitch level by cables within seven minutes of time in which the stage was set up thanks to a series of automatic motors. At the end of the show the structures had to return to the trusses to remain there until the end of the game. To minimize weight in the field, the stage Rihanna performed on had to be constructed with up to fifteen moving carts. Due to the shape of the tunnels leading to the field in State Farm Stadium, the company that built the stage, All Access, then had to build platforms equipped with stairs that could be inclined to be able to carry loads. Overall, the show required the participation of about eight hundred people, from camera operators to stage workers, passing through Rihanna and her eighty dancers and seven band members. A large number of structures also had to be built. 

Rihanna literally took the Super Bowl halftime show to new heights and gave us numerous surprises from the first to the last minute of her performance, one of which was the revelation of her second pregnancy.