This weekend the Super Bowl returned to New Orleans after 11 years—the first time since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city—and event planners were eager to embrace the city and its hallmarks. Mardi Gras colors and masks, brass bands, fleur-de-lis, and gas lanterns were woven into decor at events from Playboy, ESPN, DirecTV, and others, while catering featured creole and Cajun influences.
Others embraced the game of football, with Courtyard by Marriott hosting an AstroTurf-covered tailgate and Under Armour inviting fans to participate in running and jumping drills at the N.F.L. Experience.
The Super Bowl itself took place Sunday in front of 71,024 fans at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The game will be remembered for two moments: a powerhouse halftime performance from Beyoncé and a power outage that delayed the second half for 34 minutes.
Here's a look inside the biggest events from the weekend.
DirecTV Super Saturday Night
Producers had just four hours to convert the Celebrity Beach Bowl into a concert and lounge venue for DirecTV's Super Saturday Night. The tent rigging was built to allow the ceiling to hold as much as 100,000 pounds of equipment and decor. Two massive chandeliers balanced out the JumboTron, which concealed 15 smaller chandeliers during the touch football game.
Photo: Sean Twomey/2me Studios
'ESPN the Magazine' Next Event
For the sports magazine's Friday-night party, Tony Schubert of Event Eleven created a geometric step-and-repeat that played with angles and had no rectangles. The concept carried through to the inside of the 50,000-square-foot tent at Tad Gormley Stadium, where none of the constructed walls were the same height or dimension, and all featured different angles.
Photo: Line 8 Photography. All rights reserved.
'ESPN the Magazine' Next Event
The decor included 65 custom sofas and more than 100 coffee tables in ESPN's signature colors of red and black. Paying homage to the host city were 25 five-foot lanterns and 50 gas lamps.
Photo: Line 8 Photography. All rights reserved.
'ESPN the Magazine' Next Event
At the Next event's Coke Zero activation, guests could sample products and snap pics at the Coke Zero "Social Foto" booth. The images appeared on a flat screen at the bar.
Photo: Line 8 Photography. All rights reserved.
Playboy Party Presented by Crown Royal
A fleet of six Mini convertibles carried Playboy bunnies through the streets in a kickoff parade to Friday's party at Jax Brewery Bistro. Each bunny was joined by a brass band member as the procession wound through the French Quarter.
Photo: Neilson Barnard/Wire Image
Playboy Party Presented by Crown Royal
Produced by Caravents and Playboy senior marketing director Amanda Civitello, the party had a Mardi Gras theme and decor elements meant to invoke an authentic New Orleans feel. Guests were invited to try on colorful masks. In other areas, playmates and celebrity guests stuffed 250 Crown Royal bags with snacks that were then sent to U.S. military members.
Photo: Line 8 Photography. All rights reserved.
Playboy Party Presented by Crown Royal
Sponsor Tabasco invited local chef John Besh to create a menu for the evening. The dishes, which included "Buffaleaux" sliders and fried chipotle shrimp tacos, were all seasoned with the hot sauce.
Photo: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage
Audi Forum New Orleans
The four rings of Audi's logo stood at the entrance to Audi's after-hours event at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. The event, which took place Friday and Saturday nights, was produced by PMK-BNC and Relevent Partners.
Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images for Audi
Rolling Stone Live
At the Rolling Stone Live party, producer Toast created a "trashed hotel room" where guests could take photos and pretend to live the rock star life. The Friday-night event took place at the Bud Light Hotel, a Wyndham property rebranded for Super Bowl weekend.
Photo: Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images for Rolling Stone
Bud Light Hotel
Fusion Marketing created the Bud Light Hotel, which was appropriately decked out with branded imagery. Dancers performed in windows that looked out onto a lounge fashioned for the activation, and a custom pedestrian bridge built over the street connected the hotel to a tent.
Photo: Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images for Rolling Stone
Courtyard by Marriott Pre-Game Tailgate Party
A 12-foot AstroTurf wall marked the entryway to the hotel brand's event at the Contemporary Art Center of New Orleans. Created by Stefan Beese of Re:Be Design, the concept carried into the rest of the space where the faux grass was used on a bar, on the stage, as well as underfoot in the seating areas. A grass timeline commemorated 30 years of Courtyard history.
Photo: Stefan Beese
DirecTV Celebrity Beach Bowl
More than seven tons of sand were brought in for the game of touch football on Saturday afternoon. The tent featured bleacher seating for the general public, but had a lounge area for V.I.P.s with seating and catering. A Pitbull concert followed the event. Murphy Productions produced the event with CL22 Productions providing design and decor.
Photo: Sean Twomey/2me Studios
DirecTV Celebrity Beach Bowl Tailgate
At a tailgate before the Celebrity Beach Bowl, Chad Hudson Events created a fan-friendly experience at Mardi Gras World. The free sports-themed event had games, an ESPN social media lounge, a performance by country singer Chris Young, and New Orleans street performers, a jazz band, and marching bands from local schools. The event debuted in a smaller form at last year's Super Bowl in Indianapolis, but after 5,000 people showed up, Hudson said DirecTV expanded it for this year.
Photo: Sean Twomey/2me Studios
DirecTV Super Saturday Night
Justin Timberlake headlined DirecTV's Super Saturday Night. The stage treatment included a red Austrian drape that rose to reveal his band, the Tennessee Kids, and a silver Austrian drape as a backdrop.
Photo: Getty Images
DirecTV Super Saturday Night
The decor from CL22 Productions included black sequined tablecloths, mirrored surfaces, and furniture with scrolled legs. The room was designed to feel like a nightclub despite taking place in an 88,000-square-foot tent.
Photo: Sean Twomey/2me Studios
DirecTV Super Saturday Night
The event had a theme of "Eyes Wide Shut," which CL22 Productions created with S&M touches such as costumed characters wearing feathers, latex, leather, and chains.
Photo: Sean Twomey/2me Studios
Big Game Big Give Benefit for the Giving Back Fund
At the charity event, more than 275,000 lights created the ambience at a Mediterranean-style mansion on St. Charles Avenue. The four-week installation wrapped the wrought-iron fence that surrounds the property as well as three oak trees. Nocci produced the event.
Photo: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Giving Back Fund
Jeep Heroes Tailgate Hosted by 'Rolling Stone'
Questlove spun from a Jeep-faced DJ booth at Sunday's Rolling Stone-sponsored Jeep Heroes Tailgate event.
Photo: Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images for Rolling Stone
N.F.L. Owners Party
The N.F.L. Owners Party took place at City Park amid a canopy of 60 live oak trees and 100 decorative trees brought in for the event by New York-based Van Wyck & Van Wyck. The evening began with cocktails in three open-air tents and was followed by dinner from chef Susan Spicer and a brass band-led parade to the after-party in a glass conservatory.
Photo: Beth Kormanik/BizBash
N.F.L. Owners Party
A fleur-de-lis pattern—in honor of the host New Orleans Saints—decorated walkways at the N.F.L. Owners Party. Following the event, guests were sent home with another signature New Orleans item: beignets.
Photo: Beth Kormanik/BizBash
GQ XLVII
Flags announced the sponsors at the GQ XLVII party Saturday at the Elms Mansion. In a clear tent adjacent to the Garden District home, Lil Wayne performed. Guests could take photos with New Orleans jazz band props, and guests could take home Lacoste T-shirts silk-screened on site with the party logo.
Photo: Omar Tobias Vega/Getty Images for Maxim
GQ XLVII
The V.I.P. area at the GQ XLVII party Saturday featured metallic silver Chesterfield sofas and beverages from Beck's Sapphire and PatrĂłn Tequila. A-Squared Group produced the event.
Photo: Omar Tobias Vega/Getty Images for Maxim
N.F.L. Experience
Under Armour, a sponsor of the N.F.L. Scouting Combine for prospective players, invited fans to test themselves in the same drills. Fans who ran the 40-yard "Run to Daylight" dash were timed, with the fastest daily time displayed and awarded with prizes such as gift cards, according to Shana Gritsavage, the apparel company's director of global events. Participants wore R.F.I.D. bracelets to sign up for the activities, which allowed them to share their times on social media networks as well as enter a drawing for two tickets to the Super Bowl.
Photo: Beth Kormanik/BizBash
N.F.L. Experience
The 13,000-square-foot Under Armour activation, produced by Revolution, was the apparel company's largest fan experience of the year. Consumers could participate in a vertical jump, broad jump, and 40-yard dash and compare their stats to professional athletes.
Photo: Beth Kormanik/BizBash
N.F.L. Experience
Fans at the ticketed event at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center could pose with the Lombardi Trophy, awarded to the Super Bowl champion.
Photo: Beth Kormanik/BizBash
PatrĂłn Tequila Express
The PatrĂłn Tequila Express, a 1927 Vintage Railcar, hosted multiple events for the brand over Super Bowl weekend. In one, 25 members of the PatrĂłn Social Club were selected to participate in a scavenger hunt Thursday that ultimately led them to a party on the train. The attendees had to navigate clues that included putting on special sunglasses that would allow them to see images in TV screens that otherwise appeared to be flickering white screens.
Photo: Beth Kormanik/BizBash
Express Shirt Shop
The retailer hosted a pop-up shop at the Hyatt French Quarter where invited celebrities and athletes could choose from several button-down shirts and have them embroidered on the spot. The display also included matching ties and other accessories, as well as a lounge area that expanded into a space for happy hour on Thursday.
Photo: Beth Kormanik/BizBash
Axxis Sports and Entertainment Leathers & Laces
The 10th edition of the party saw performers from Cirque USA—including a drummer—suspended over the crowd. The event took place Saturday at Second Line Stages.
Photo: Erika Goldring/Getty Images for Leather & Laces
Maxim Party presented by PatrĂłn Tequila
Saturday's party at Second Line Studios had a "Greek Goddess" theme, with Grecian decor such as white columns and event staff wearing togas and laurels. The space also featured a branded Xbox lounge where guests could play Gears of War: Judgment and a Fox Sports Digital lounge. The event was produced by Noah Flom of Ark Endeavors.
Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Maxim
