Coldplay called playing the 2016 Super Bowl half-time show the "biggest honour" ahead of the big game in Santa Clara, California on Sunday 7 February. "Everyone who does this show knows it's the biggest honour, it's the biggest privilege," the group's frontman Chris Martin told a news conference held in San Francisco.

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"We've watched all of the other half-time shows many times and they're all – most of them are fantastic...I think we're going to try and celebrate those other years and hopefully make a show as memorable as some of our favourites," he added.

Asked how the band was selected for the gig, Martin joked that it "started in Iowa three years ago," a reference to the recent caucuses there, the first nominating contest in the US presidential race.

Striking a more serious tone, bandmate Will Champion, said they were "staggered" to be chosen. "There's nothing bigger for a band, so we were blown away and, you know, immediately we started thinking, right, we need to get to work, because there's an awful lot of stuff to do," he said.

But despite their enthusiasm for the performance venue, the band admitted to knowing little about the actual game. "I think we're firmly split down the middle between those of us who know absolutely nothing about football and those of us who know almost absolutely nothing about football," joked member Jonny Buckland.

Upwards of 100m US viewers are expected to tune in for the intensely choreographed live 15-minute set, more than 50 times the audience of the band's last major tour in 2012, according to figures from concert tracker Pollstar.