The NFL has named Paul McCartney to headline the halftime show at the Super Bowl, scheduled for 6 February 2005 in Jacksonville, Florida. The booking reflects the league's drive to rebuild its public image after a halftime controversy the previous year.
During the 2004 game, a joint performance by Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake ended with an on-air exposure that reached more than 144 million television viewers. The incident, characterized at the time as a wardrobe malfunction, prompted public apologies from the event's organizers and the performers themselves.
CBS, the network that broadcast the game, also issued an apology and paid a $500,000 fine to regulators.
McCartney, who performed in a pregame slot at the 2002 Super Bowl, was welcomed back by the league. Steve Bornstein, the NFL's executive vice president of media, described him as "one of the greatest musicians of our time."
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in November 2004, in its own words.