R&B Star Usher to Headline 2024 Super Bowl Halftime Show

FILE PHOTO: Usher poses at the Met Gala in New York City, New York, US, May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Usher poses at the Met Gala in New York City, New York, US, May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo
TT

R&B Star Usher to Headline 2024 Super Bowl Halftime Show

FILE PHOTO: Usher poses at the Met Gala in New York City, New York, US, May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Usher poses at the Met Gala in New York City, New York, US, May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo

Grammy-winning artist Usher will headline the halftime show at the 2024 Super Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada, the National Football League (NFL), Apple Music and label Roc Nation announced on Sunday.

The 58th Super Bowl is scheduled to take place at Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11, 2024.

"It's an honor of a lifetime to finally check a Super Bowl performance off my bucket list," Usher said in the statement. "I can't wait to bring the world a show unlike anything else they've seen from me before."

Since the release of his debut album in 1994, Usher Raymond IV has sold over 80 million records worldwide, climbing atop music charts and bringing home eight Grammy awards, considered by many to be the most prestigious awards in the music industry.

Billboard magazine crowned him the second most successful artist of the 2000s.

"U Got It Bad," "OMG," and "Yeah!" are among the 44-year-old singer's chart-topping hits. Usher is currently performing in Las Vegas as part of his residency show "Usher: My Way."

"Usher is an icon whose music has left an indelible mark on the cultural landscape throughout his career," NFL Head of Music Seth Dudowsky said in the news release announcing the decision.

Last year's Super Bowl Halftime Show, headlined by R&B star Rihanna, was the most-watched halftime performance of all time, organizers said.

Iconic artists including the Rolling Stones, Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, Prince and Bruce Springsteen have taken the Super Bowl stage over the years.



Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
TT

Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and his deputy, Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz, attended the opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games in Paris.

Held outside the traditional stadiums for the first time in history, the ceremony featured a parade of the 206 participating countries on 100 boats traveling approximately 6 kilometers along the Seine River.

The Saudi show jumping team player, Ramzy Al-Duhami, and his colleague, the Saudi Taekwondo champion Dunya Aboutaleb, raised the Saudi flag at the opening of the world’s largest sporting event.

Al-Duhami expressed his pride in raising the Kingdom’s flag alongside his teammate, noting that it was a dream for any Saudi citizen. He wished success for the Saudi athletes in representing Saudi sports with distinction.

Aboutaleb, in turn, said he was honored to carry the Kingdom’s flag at the Olympic Games, stating: “I aspire to perform at a level that reflects the support and attention given to sports in the Kingdom.”

The Saudi athletes’ uniform was admired by the international media and the audience, who applauded the players the moment their boat appeared on the Seine River.

The designs for the opening ceremony were chosen through a national competition organized by the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, with the participation of designers from across the Kingdom.

Out of 128 competing designers, the chosen uniform by Saudi designer Alia Al-Salmi featured traditional men’s thobes and bishts and brightly patterned thobe al-nashal for women, symbolizing the athletes’ pride in their homeland and cultural roots.

Mashael Al-Ayed, 17, will be the first Saudi athlete to compete, taking to the pool for the 200 meters freestyle swimming event on July 28. Al-Ayed is the first female swimmer to represent Saudi Arabia at the Olympics.