Coldplay Super Bowl show 'will be greatest moment'
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has said headlining the half-time show at the Super Bowl 50 American football spectacular will be the "greatest moment" in the band's history.
The National Football League (NFL) revealed on Twitter the band would entertain the crowd during its flagship event at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, in February.
Martin said the group were "excited and honoured" to be taking part in what he called the "Super Bowl of music".
In a promotional video, he said: "We are so excited and honoured and thrilled to be playing the half-time show. It's going to be wonderful and I hope we see you there.
"I'm really, really nervous. This is the greatest moment in our band's life. We are going to give it everything we have."
The Super Bowl broke records for viewing figures with 114 million people tuning in in the US this year - but the band is no stranger to the big stage, having played at the London 2012 Paralympic closing ceremony and Glastonbury Festival.
The band's artistic director, Phil Harvey, revealed there would be a "special guest" - but gave no clues.
He said: "Today, it's about how do we stage our special guest. Yesterday, what I was nervous about was all about the set list."
But a band spokesman gave fans a flavour of what to expect.
"Chris is designing a show that will echo elements of the NFL's On the Fifty campaign - honouring the past, recognising the present and looking ahead to the next 50 years," he said.
The four-piece follow Katy Perry's popular effort, while other artists to have performed in recent years include Beyonce, The Who, Madonna and Prince.
American football fans on social media in the US had mixed views about the Super Bowl announcement.
Darren Heitner, from South Florida, said: "Whether you like Coldplay or not, band doesn't make you think 'exciting Super Bowl Half Time show'."
Paul Dellegatto, from Tampa, Florida, tweeted: "Go ahead and hate on Coldplay headlining Super Bowl half time show, but you know at some point you've cried to a Coldplay song."
And Mike Pache, from Scotsdale, Arizona, said: "Really not a fan of Coldplay doing the SuperBowl. Very low energy for SB50. Very low."
The announcement came as the band played an intimate gig in a church on the eve of their new album launch.
The band put on a show that was packed full of their classic hits as well as tracks from their latest record, A Head Full Of Dreams, at the St John at Hackney Church in east London on Thursday night.
Broadcast live on Annie Mac's show on BBC Radio 1, the intimate gig featured songs including Viva La Vida, A Sky Full Of Stars and Fix You.
The crowd enjoyed a singalong during Fix You and Martin hailed them as "an amazing group of singers".
At the end of the concert Martin brought the band's manager on to the stage and everyone sang Happy Birthday to him.
Coldplay's new album, out on Friday, was made with the producers behind pop hits including Rihanna's Rude Boy, Katy Perry's Firework and Beyonce's Irreplaceable.
A Head Full Of Dreams has been produced by Norwegian duo Stargate, consisting Of Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, alongside the band's long-time collaborator Rik Simpson.
The album features more guests than any other Coldplay record, with Beyonce, Noel Gallagher, Tove Lo and Merry Clayton appearing on the record.
Adventure Of A Lifetime, the first single, shows a departure from their 2014 album Ghost Stories - with more of a pop and dance sound.
The rock band's seventh studio album will be released via Parlophone Records and was produced in Malibu, Los Angeles and London.
After choosing not to tour with Ghost Stories, the band are planning a world tour for A Head Full Of Dreams.
