Rihanna to headline Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show

Rihanna is set to headline the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show in February.

After rumours began to circulate online in recent days, the Umbrella hitmaker took to Instagram on Sunday to share a photo of her holding a National Football League (NFL) football.

While Rihanna has not yet officially commented on her upcoming gig, executives from the NFL, music label Roc Nation, and event sponsor Apple Music confirmed the exciting news in a statement.

"Rihanna is a generational talent, a woman of humble beginnings who has surpassed expectations at every turn. A person born on the small island of Barbados who became one of the most prominent artists ever. Self-made in business and entertainment," praised Roc Nation co-founder JAY-Z, while NFL Head of Music, Seth Dudowsky, added: "We are thrilled to welcome Rihanna to the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show stage. Rihanna is a once-in-a-generation artist who has been a cultural force throughout her career. We look forward to collaborating with Rihanna, Roc Nation and Apple Music to bring fans another historic Halftime Show performance."

The Super Bowl LVII will take place at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on 12 February.

Back in October 2019, Rihanna confirmed she had rejected an offer to play at the Super Bowl Halftime Show that year in order to show solidarity with Colin Kaepernick.

In 2016, the quarterback knelt during the national anthem at the start of NFL games to protest police brutality and racial injustice in America. He has not played in the NFL since, with it widely believed that he was blacklisted over his actions.

Kaepernick withdrew a grievance with NFL bosses in early 2019 shortly after they agreed on a confidential settlement.

"I couldn't dare do that. For what? Who gains from that? Not my people. I just couldn't be a sellout. I couldn't be an enabler," Rihanna told Vogue at the time. "There's things within that organisation that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way."