Sting to Headline Concert Pre-Super Bowl Amid Bad Bunny Controversy


Sting has been added to the lineup of musical guests performing during the weekend of the 2026 Super Bowl.

The “Every Breath You Take” singer, 74, is set to headline a Super Bowl-branded concert at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on February 6, 2026, the NFL’s hospitality provider, On Location, announced on Tuesday, October 28. The concert will take place two days before the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, where Bad Bunny is set to perform the halftime show.

According to On Location, Sting’s set will be part of the Super Bowl LX Studio 60 event, which is “a weekend of unforgettable music entertainment at one of San Francisco’s most iconic venues.”

“The intimate setting serves as an opportunity to see artists up close and personal,” On Location’s website reads. “A variety of packages are available with offerings that include general access passes with all-inclusive food and beverage, all-inclusive private lounge spaces, meet and greet opportunities with NFL legends and current players and more.”

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Related: Bad Bunny Announced as Super Bowl 2026 Halftime Show Performer

Bad Bunny is officially headlining the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show in 2026. In an Instagram announcement video shared on Sunday, September 28, the “Moscow Mule” hitmaker, 31, was seen dressed in a tailored suit as he gazed into the camera lens. As the video panned out, Bad Bunny (real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) […]

While additional performers have yet to be announced, the website notes that a second night of festivities will take place on February 7.

Tickets for the “Sting Friday Experience” are available now, starting at $750 per person.

The announcement comes amid controversy surrounding Bad Bunny, 31, being tapped as the halftime show performer. Several conservative political figures, including President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, have spoken out against the decision to hire the Puerto Rican singer.

“I’ve never heard of him,” Trump, 79, claimed during an October 6 appearance on Newsmax’s Greg Kelly Reports. “I don’t know who he is. I don’t know why they’re doing it. It’s, like, crazy. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”

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Bad Bunny
Rosalind O’Connor/NBC via Getty Images

Bad Bunny (real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) has also received support from fellow celebrities amid the backlash, including Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Jay-Z and Rita Moreno.

“So what? I’m Puerto Rican too. So what? What a nuisance!” Moreno, 93, exclusively told Us Weekly in response to critics who claim Bad Bunny isn’t “American.”

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addressed the criticism surrounding the Super Bowl halftime performer at a news conference on October 22.

“He’s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world,” Goodell, 66, told reporters. “That’s what we try to achieve. It’s an important stage for us. It’s an important element to the entertainment value, and it’s carefully thought through.”

He continued, “I’m not sure we’ve ever selected an artist where we didn’t have some blowback and criticism. It’s pretty hard to do when you have literally hundreds of millions of people that are watching.”

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Related: Super Bowl Halftime Petition Aims to Swap Bad Bunny for George Strait

The hoopla continues over Bad Bunny’s upcoming Super Bowl halftime performance.  According to Entertainment Weekly, a petition has begun on Change.org to swap the Puerto Rican superstar for country singer George Strait. The petition has more than 50,000 signatures and encourages the NFL to pull Bad Bunny, 31, from the 2026 broadcast — perpetually the […]

Bad Bunny also poked fun at the backlash surrounding his upcoming performance during his October 4 hosting gig on Saturday Night Live.

“You may not know this but I’m doing the Super Bowl Halftime Show. I’m very happy and I think everyone is very happy about it! Even Fox News,” he said as SNL showed a montage of critical news coverage of his Super Bowl spot, although it was edited to say, “Bad Bunny is my favorite musician and he should be the next president.”

Bad Bunny continued, “Really, I’m very excited to be doing the Super Bowl and I know people all around the world who love my music are also happy.”

After briefly speaking in Spanish, he quipped, “If you didn’t understand now what I just said, you have four months to learn!”



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