Rihanna’s Super Bowl Show director talks ensuring safety for ‘ridiculously ambitious’ performance

Rihanna made history as she became the first pregnant woman to perform during the Super Bowl Halftime show on Sunday, February 12th, 2023.

As the We Found Love crooner performed her set, the singer was perched on a platform raised over 60 feet in the air, shocking fans around the world.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, show director, Hamish Hamilton detailed how they executed the fireworks-filled extravaganza while also keeping Rihanna safe.

“For her, I’m sure it was really scary, because, you know, she’s not fond of heights either. So, for her, it was, like, super brave,” Hamilton shared. “We practiced it in baby steps. First it was 10 feet, then it was 20, then it was 30.”

Hamilton explained that it was important to get the platforms right along with the camera right to capture the Grammy-winner’s performance.

“That would be a brave thing to do in, like, a Broadway show, where you’ve got months and months to set it up... [but] this is a Super Bowl. I mean, you’ve got eight minutes to get all that stuff out. Check it, safety check it, make sure it’s cool, deploy it, and then fly her up,” Hamilton said. “It was ridiculously ambitious.”

Given the fact that the Umbrella hitmaker was pregnant and she wanted it to be kept a secret, Hamilton had to take that into consideration as well.

He shared since it was a “very, very personal, joyous moment” for the singer, they were “very mindful of the fact that she was pregnant.” However, they were also aware that “this kind of a show hasn’t been done before either.” He added that the people working on the project all understood the importance of discretion, so no one was too worried about the safety of the secret itself.

While everyone was excited to be working on something so big and impressive, the very scope of the project inherently led to trepidation.

“There were so many times when I thought, ‘This is not going to happen.’ So, so many times,” he reflected. “You know, the cameras didn’t work. The platforms stopped. [There were] lots of times when the safety was engaged and we had to stop and reassess. There were never any times when we were putting anybody in danger, but there were a lot of times when we needed to stop, evaluate the safety and then carry on.”