Coldplay ‘honoured’ to perform at Super Bowl to mark 50th anniversary of sporting event

Coldplay have been confirmed as the headline act for the half-time show at the Super Bowl – something Chris Martin described as the band’s “greatest moment”.

The band will take to the stage at the prestigious event to mark the 50th anniversary on February 7, 2016.

The news was announced via a video on their official Twitter account.

Speaking to the camera, Martin said: “We’re so excited and honoured and thrilled to be playing the half-time show. It’s going to be wonderful and we hope to see you there.”

With only nine weeks to rehearse, the front man said he was “really nervous” but added: “This is the greatest moment in our band's life. We are going to give it everything we have."

The news comes ahead of the release of their seventh studio album, A Head Full of Dreams.

Speaking about what fans can expect from the show, artistic director Phil Harvey confirmed a “special guest” – but remained tight lipped over the identity.

"Today, it's about how do we stage our special guest,” he said. “Yesterday, what I was nervous about was all about the set list."

The band will follow in the footsteps of Beyonce, Madonna, U2 and The Who.

More than 118.5 million viewers in the US watched Katy Perry at this year’s Pepsi Super Bowl Half-time Show, making it the most-watched half-time show ever.