image copyrightReuters

image captionThe star performed a medley of eight hits including Starboy and Blinding Lights

The Super Bowl Halftime Show is traditionally built on grand gestures and eye-popping spectacle.

Think about Lady Gaga diving off the roof of Houston's NRG stadium, or Katy Perry riding an animatronic lion, or Diana Ross soaring out of Arizona's Sun Devil Stadium, waving to fans through the open door of a helicopter.

This year was a little different.

Canadian R&B star The Weeknd was the interval act and, for the first time in the game's 55-year history, he was largely forced to perform from the stands, rather than the pitch, in compliance with strict coronavirus protocols.

And his 12-minute show was "watched" by thousands of cardboard cut-outs, who bulked out the 25,000 socially-distanced fans at Florida's Raymond James Stadium.

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But the 30-year-old made the most of the restrictions with a gimmick-free show that put the emphasis on his songs.

The star, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, performed the majority of his set in front of a set modelled on the city in Fritz Lang's Metropolis - all vertical layers and neon signs.